Turkey chilaquiles salsa verde

As I’ve said before I just love Thanksgiving and one of the reasons I love it is that the leftover turkey from the Thanksgiving meal is perfect for making this dish. I always make it the Sunday after Thanksgiving and now you can, too.

Turkey chilaquiles salsa verde
serves four

Salsa Verde (recipe follows)
10 corn tortillas, cut into ½ inch strips
1 lb. leftover turkey in bite-sized pieces
1 cup sour cream (or crema if you’ve got it)
1 cup grated Jack cheese

  1. Grease an ovenproof casserole (at least 3 qt.)
  2. Spread a layer of salsa verde in the bottom of the casserole
  3. Place one-third of the tortilla strips in the casserole.
  4. Place one-third of the turkey on top of the tortilla strips.
  5. Spread one-third of the sour cream (or crema) over the turkey.
  6. Sprinkle one-third of the cheese over the sour cream (or crema)
  7. Repeat with remainder of the ingredients—salsa, tortilla strips, turkey, sour cream, cheese, salsa, tortilla strips, turkey, sour cream, cheese
  8. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a pre-heated 375°F oven for 40 minutes or until heated through and bubbling. You can remove the foil for the last five minutes of cooking to let the cheese brown if you like.

And if you don’t think that this dish is faaaannntastic when made with the leftover smoked turkey that I’ve got well, then, you’ll just have to try it yourself and see.

Salsa verde

12 oz. canned or fresh tomatillos (if using fresh clean and blanch for three minutes in boiling water before using)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 oz. Anaheim or other mild green chile, canned or fresh (if using fresh clean, seed, chop it, and blanch for three minutes before using)
&frac14 cup fresh cilantro
1 tsp. ground cumin
Salt

  1. Place all the ingredients (except salt) in a blender or food processor and blend until it’s just slightly chunky. If it’s too thick you can thin it with a little chicken stock.
  2. Salt to taste.

UPDATE: This feels like cheating to me but an extremely quick and easy substitution is to use bottled salsa verde and packaged grated cheese. When you do it this way the whole assembly can be done in about five minutes. It will probably be a little saltier than you might make it yourself so you’ll need to have extra beer on hand to drink with it.

4 comments… add one
  • Robert Bell Link

    Regarding “cheating” – the thing is that from the perhaps limited perspective of a Canadian (Nova Scotian) who married a New Mexican native, chilaquiles seem to be the equivalent of our “turkey fried rice” which was never a first string meal. It was highly favored by the family, but we would never serve it to guests, and we would never eat it at the dining table with good China – always at the kitchen table.

    I think you should put a more positive spin on the cheating aspect, suggesting that by saving the time you could slow down, have another beer, and have more quality time with your family.

    Kindest Regards,
    Robert

  • Thanks, Robert. You’ve made the point for me pretty darned well ;-).

    I made this recipe last night and, since I couldn’t put my hands on fresh tomatillos within the distance I was willing to drive, used the bottled salsa verde myself. Man did it turn out good!

Leave a Comment