One of my favorite meats is turkey; and it’s also a meal that I greatly enjoy preparing. Transforming that pale, slippery skin into a golden, crisp covering for the juicy meat beneath is very satisfying ... and even a small turkey provides a good amount of meat. MAL has been known to bring home a turkey in the summer, and even then I’m happy to fire up the oven and stovetop to roast the turkey and make mashed potatoes and gravy.

Someday I’ll post my oven-roasted turkey recipe, and challenge Ian to a turkey cook-off—he’s already posted his brining and cooking procedure (I’m too lazy to look it up at the moment). For now, I’m focusing on ways to handle leftovers. I’ve got a good turkey soup recipe down pat, as well as turkey-potato cakes, but it’s nice to add another variation to one’s recipe box.

The other day, I set out a bunch of frozen turkey meat without a clear idea of what I was going to do with it for dinner. I started tossing things into a saucepan, stirring and sampling, and what I ended up with was a dish MAL and I really liked. The snolfs, however, did not. Having just read parts of a Calvin and Hobbes book, they dubbed my creation “Bat Barf”. I doubt that it resembles bat barf at all, but I’ve a feeling the name will stick (another of my creations has the lovely title “Ick and Yuck”).

Anyway, I’d told Ian that if he posted a chicken rotis recipe he’d mentioned, I’d post my bat barf recipe. Ian has come through in his singular style – here’s his amusing method for making chicken rotis. Read on – if you dare! – for the soon-to-be-legendary [or maybe not] recipe for Bat Barf.

There are few measures for this dish ... I was in a hurry and improvising as I proceeded. What I ended up with was a thick mixture, sporting a lot of turkey and a generous amount of spinach in a medium-thin sauce. When I make this again, I’ll serve it in crêpes; we had it over rice and liked that well enough, but I think it’ll be even better nestled between the folds of those lovely eggy creations.


Bat Barf Recipe

2–4 T. butter
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, chopped medium-fine
sherry, 2–4 T.
cooked turkey meat (light and dark), torn into roughly bite-sized pieces (maybe 2–3 C.)
potato flour, about 1/2 C. (plain white flour will work fine)
frozen spinach (maybe 2 C.)
3–4 fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
warmed milk (1 1/2–2 C.)
half and half (1/2–3/4 C.)
salt and pepper

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat until it just begins to brown. Toss in the onion and stir occasionally, until the onion starts to become translucent. Add the garlic and stir-cook for 1-2 minutes – just until the lovely aroma of cooked garlic begins to waft up. Splash in a good dollop of the sherry, stir, and let the mixture thicken a bit – another minute or two.

Add the turkey to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to warm. Sprinkle the flour over the mix and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid and flour mix thickens and begins to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the frozen spinach; cook, stirring occasionally, until its liquid is absorbed, another 3 to 5 minutes. Toss in the sage.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add warmed milk, about 1/2 C at a time, stirring well to make a smooth sauce. Simmer for a few minutes, then add some salt and pepper to your taste. Add some half and half and simmer, stirring occasionally, until flavors are blended and sauce is thickened to your preference. Adjust seasonings if necessary. I think I added about 3/4 tsp. of salt, total – spinach and turkey both require a lot of salt.



Notes: Fearing that the turkey wouldn’t be flavorful enough on its own, I tossed in a spoonful of chicken base after adding the milk. I don’t think it was enough to add to the flavor, so I probably won’t do it again – but if I had some leftover gravy on hand, I’d add some of that.

I was also hesitant about adding more seasonings to the dish, primarily because I wanted the snolfs to like it but also because I didn’t want to wreck it. Things I considered adding include nutmeg, cloves, thyme, parmesan cheese, feta cheese, and blue cheese (not necessarily all together, mind you!). I will almost certainly experiment with various combinations of those and other items too, starting with blue cheese and cloves.