Leftover Turkey Risotto

Wondering what to do with your roast turkey leftovers? This Easy Turkey Risotto is your answer! Turkey Risotto is a quick, easy and delicious way to use up leftover roast turkey – it takes just 35 minutes and only uses 1 pot! If you don’t have any leftovers, don’t worry… I have included instructions for how to make this with fresh turkey breast fillets too. (You could also use chicken if you prefer!)

Course Leftovers, Main Course

Cuisine British, Fusion, Italian

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 30

Total Time 35

Servings people

Calories 454kcal

Author Eb Gargano

Ingredients

1 large onion finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic crushed, grated or finely chopped
1 litre hot chicken stock (from a cube is fine, I used 1 x Kallo Organic Chicken Stock Cube)
300 g risotto rice I use arborio (see Note 1)
75 ml white wine (optional - see Note 2)
Salt and pepper to taste (see Note 3)
300 g cooked turkey chopped into bitesize pieces (see Note 4 for what to do if using fresh turkey)
100 g frozen peas (no need to defrost)
25 g grated parmesan plus extra to serve
2 tablespoons parsley finely chopped – plus extra for garnish (optional)
Green salad and/or bread to serve (optional)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Place the olive oil and diced onions in a large pan over a low heat. Cover with a lid and fry for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened but not brown.
Remove the lid and add the garlic. Fry for 1 more minute, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile make up your chicken stock using 1 chicken stock cube and 1 litre of boiling water.
Next, add the risotto rice to the pan. Stir and cook for 1 minute, before adding in the white wine (if using).
Cook for 1 more minute, then add all of the stock, together with a little salt and pepper. Turn the heat up and bring to the boil.
Turn the heat right down, but leave the lid off. Cook the risotto for 15 minutes. Make sure you give the risotto a good stir from time to time, while it is cooking.
After 15 minutes, stir in the cooked turkey, frozen peas and the grated parmesan. Cover with a lid and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. By this time the rice should be ‘al dente’ – that is, it should be mostly cooked, but with a little bit of bite.
Stir in the fresh parsley and serve garnished with extra parsley and sprinkled with extra parmesan. Add a side salad and some crusty French bread if you wish.

Notes

There are several different types of risotto rice. I recommend using arborio rice for this recipe.
When choosing wine for cooking, always choose wine you would be happy drinking! If you prefer not to use wine, simply replace with water.
This is up to you and your tastes, but personally I only add black pepper as the salt in the stock cube makes it salty enough for my personal taste.
If using fresh turkey breast fillets, first cut the fillets into small bitesize pieces, then stir-fry in 1 tablespoon olive oil over a high heat until lightly browned on most sides – this should take 3-5 minutes. Remove to a plate, then follow the recipe above exactly as written, adding the turkey (along with all the tasty juices!) back into the risotto at the same time as you would with cooked turkey.
Suitable for freezing if using fresh turkey. Not suitable for freezing if using cooked turkey. (This is because you should not reheat food more than once, especially turkey.)
Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Nutrition