Turkey Vegetable Orzo With Pecorino Romano

This is a nice twist on turkey risotto and uses the leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner.

 Cooking the orzo in a combination of gravy and stock really ramps of the creaminess without the endless stirring that comes with making risotto.  Using turkey stock instead of water also gives the dish more flavor.  You just throw it all together and cook gently.  The dark meat holds up better to the additional cooking.  Plus I like to save the white meat for sandwiches.  The shredded pecorino adds nice flavor at the end but Parmesan would be a good substitute.   

Ingredients

Serves 4

2 cups turkey, chopped (dark meat)

½ cup carrots, chopped 

½ cup green beans and onions, chopped 

3 cups of turkey gravy 

1-cup turkey stock

1-cup orzo, uncooked

¼-1/2 cup grated pecorino Romano cheese

Heat gravy and stock in a large saucepan over low heat until it simmers.  Add the orzo and cook until almost done.  The pastas should still be firm inside but soft outside, about 15 minutes.  Add the turkey, carrots and green beans continue cooking until the orzo is done and everything is heated through about 10 minutes more.  Serve with grated pecorino on top in large bowls. 

Comments

[Cynthia Whitman]

Looks good! I went the traditional tetrazzini route , although, because my son hates mushrooms -- and I couldn't bear to do just the turkey and cream sauce without something else in there -- I decided to use black olives (left over from the relish dish) and the result was both lovely and rustic in look and taste! The salty olives were the perfect color and taste compliment to the turkey and cream. I also threw some parmesan cheese into the sauce, in addition to the generous dusting on the casserole, which I dotted with butter before baking.
I didn't think I could better my mom's post-Thanksgiving tetrazinni ... I was wrong!

Thanks, as ever, for the inspiration, Sal!

[sally]

Sounds delicious CIndy...hmmm olives...like it!