ZUNI CAFÉ DRESSING

ZUNI  CAFE DRESSING

• 12 oz day old sturdy white bread unsliced
• 2 cloves garlic finely sliced
• 1 large or two small leeks white and light green portion only, chopped
• 2 Tbsp pine nuts
• 1 tsp ground sage
• 1/4 tsp dried savory
• olive oil
• clear turkey drippings - the fat
• concentrated turkey stock - recipe link below
• salt and pepper

To prepare the bread

• You can do this at any time. Remove the crust from the loaf, then slice it about 1 1/2 inches thick. Brush liberally with olive oil. Heat your broiler and toast the bread until golden brown. Be very careful here. The bread can burn easily under the broiler.
• Let cool and rip into 1 inch pieces. Set aside in a large bowl.

To prepare the turkey dressing

• Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over low heat.
• Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium low heat. Add the garlic and cook about 45 seconds. Next, add the leeks and sweat until translucent - about 5 minutes. Now mix in the herbs and continue to cook over medium low heat for another 3 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper.
• Combine leek mixture with bread and add the pine nuts. Moisten with concentrated turkey stock and place in a shallow oven-proof dish large enough to hold the all the turkey dressing.
• Pre-heat your oven to 375F if not already roasting your turkey.
• Thirty minutes before you plan to serve (around the time you pull your turkey from the oven), drizzle 5-6 Tbsp of turkey fat siphoned from your roasting pan over the dressing. Cover with foil and place in oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for another 10 minutes.
• Serve as you would stuffing.

Notes

Bread from a decent bakery makes this a much better dish. Think sturdy and maybe lightly sourdough.

Concentrated turkey stock is awesome for this dressing. It will make your gravy the best you have ever had. It's a game changer.

• turkey necks, wings and backs - as will fit in a big pot - 5 lbs or more
• 2 onions - halved. Leave the skins on
• water to cover

Instructions

• Trim as much fat from the turkey parts as you can. Place them in a large pot along with your leftover carcass.
• Add the onion halves and cover with water.
• Simmer, loosely covered, until the turkey bits are tasteless. You want all the flavour in the water and none in the meat. This can take 12 hours. Add water as needed along the way.
• Once the turkey bits are tasteless, start reducing. You want to get somewhere around 3 cups of liquid. When you get down to 3 cups remove the onions, sprinkle them with a bit of salt and try them. They are the cooks treat.
• At this point, remove the big bones from the pot then strain through a colander.
• Defat as best as possible and pour into a freezer proof container. Place the container in the refrigerator and let the fat separate.
• Remove fat, cover and freeze until your next roast turkey dinner.

Notes

If you are doing this for the first time and don't have a turkey carcass, just use turkey parts. That works great.