Every year, countless pounds of food go to waste after Thanksgiving. After all, how many times can you eat the same meal of turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce? This holiday, make the most of your leftovers and get creative with these healthy post-meal recipes from some of our favorite chefs.
Vegetarian Panini by Karen and Quinn Hatfield of Hatfield’s
“This recipe is so simple, you don’t even need a formal recipe. The day after Thanksgiving, simply add leftover cranberry sauce and almond butter to sprouted wheat or whole grain bread and press in a panini press (you are looking to achieve a medium golden brown evenly across the bread — a little oil will help that) and it’s an instant meal. For those who don’t have a panini press, griddling in a pan is a fine substitution. Just work over low to moderate heat, so it doesn’t get too dark.”
Turkey & Sweet Potato Knish
Turkey & Sweet Potato Knish by Eric and Bruce Bromberg of Blue Ribbon Restaurants (makes 20 knishes)
“Knishes have always been one of our favorite Jewish comfort foods, so we couldn’t help but get carried away with the idea of the Thanksgiving Knish. Thanksgiving leftovers certainly satisfy straight from your refrigerator, but baking them into a warm savory knish is a delicious and fun way to elevate them. The combination of the juicy turkey, velvety cream cheese and sweet potatoes is definitely a great way to pay homage to two of our favorite holidays.”
Ingredients:
Knish Filling
- 1 pound mashed sweet potatoes
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 12 ounces turkey leftovers, chopped into fine dice
- 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1/2 tablespoon black pepper, freshly ground
Knish Dough
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 pound butter, unsalted, chilled
- 1/3 cup water, very cold
- 1/2 tablespoon granulated salt
To make the dough, put the flour into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add cold butter, cut into small pieces and salt. Mix slowly with the paddle attachment until butter cuts into the flour to form smaller granules. Drizzle in water and mix just enough for the dough to come together. Put dough onto work table and knead briefly and form into a flattened ball. Wrap in plastic film and refrigerate for at least one hour.
To make the filling, fold together mashed sweet potatoes (or roasted sweet potatoes) and chopped turkey in a large bowl using a spatula. Do not over mix.
To form the knish, take the dough out of the fridge and cut into 1/4 pieces the long way. Flour the work space. Take one of the pieces of the dough and hit it with a rolling pin, elongating it into a long strip, measuring approximately 1/4 inch thick and 2 1/2 inches wide. Place a cylinder of the potato filling about 1 inch wide down the center of the knish dough. Brush the top of the dough with a strip of egg wash. Fold the bottom of the dough over the potato filling, and roll over to touch the egg-washed side. Using a bread knife, cut the log into 3-ounce discs (about 2 1/2 inches wide). Using your hands, hold the individual disc and seal one side, pinching the dough over the potato. On the other side of the disc, put some pressure on the open-ended side, so that the knish takes form. It should be almost 2 inches in height and 4 inches across.
Finally, it’s time for baking. Coat the outside of the dough of two knishes with egg wash. Place a small square of parchment paper on sizzle platter and put the two knishes on top of the paper, not touching each other. Bake in a 450 degree Fahrenheit convection oven for 8 minutes.
