2009 October 06 | dinner with Julie

Archive for October 6th, 2009

Butter Turkey with Spinach (in the CrockPot)

As I type this it’s closing in on midnight and I’m trying to decide my best plan of attack to cook a turkey (and all the trimmings, including dessert) perfectly by 7:30 am tomorrow morning, without it drying out or my having to get up at 3 am to check on it. Normally sleep deprivation would be something I’d rather avoid, but it so happens I’m flying to TORONTO tomorrow afternoon to be on CANADA AM on Wednesday, which requires a 7:30am call time (that’s 5:30 my time), which will likely translate to a 5:30 wake-up call (that’s 3:30 my time) – not that I’ll be sleeping anyway, but fretting that my alarms won’t go off, my cab will get lost on the way to the studio, I’ll forget what I’m supposed to be talking about, that sweater I chose to wear was the wrong choice after all, or (most likely) all of the above. So I really should get at least a little bit of sleep tonight.

And I may have told you this before, but the entire reason for my trip is to cook a turkey in a CrockPot. (There’s a twist – you’ll have to watch to find out!) And so I had to practice cooking a turkey in a CrockPot (genius it is – not pretty, but impossible to mess up or dry out) which meant a whole lot of leftover turkey before Thanksgiving even rolls around. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Now that I know it can be done (and how ridiculously easy it is) I’ll be cooking turkeys year-round, doing them up in the slow cooker instead of roasting my usual two chickens at a time, and then shredding the incredibly moist meat for use in sandwiches, soups, really anything that calls for chopped cooked chicken, which covers a lot. Any meat that has been cooked on the bone is more flavourful, and you can imagine how moist and juicy a bird done in the CrockPot ends up.

So late this morning, knowing my sister and her kids were coming for dinner and the CrockPot was still sitting on the countertop, I tossed everything in and when I ran in the door at 5:30, had dinner on the table in 15 minutes. (Rounded out with frozen brown rice -yes, you can make big batches and freeze it!- and some quickly steamed green beans.) I love the idea of adding spinach – thanks to my friend Korey for that, and the basis of this recipe.

Butter Turkey with Spinach

1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 28 oz (796 mL) can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
4-5 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
2-3 tsp. curry paste
1 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2-3 cups roughly chopped or shredded leftover roast turkey or chicken
4 cups fresh spinach
1 cup plain yogurt, half & half, whipping cream or any combination of these (or more or less to taste)
chopped peanuts or cashews, for sprinkling on top (optional)

Put everything but the spinach and yogurt in the CrockPot, and cook on low for 4-6 hours (if you want to start with raw chicken – use skinless thighs – cook for 6-8 hours on low). When you’re ready to eat, tear in the spinach, stir it in until it wilts, and stir in the yogurt or cream. Serve immediately, over rice. Serves about 6.