Christmas Dinner Course 3 - Smoked Turkey Rissoles

So the smoked turkey meat went into the rissoles. They were incredible. If I'd paid thirty bucks at a restaurant I would have felt like it was a bargain. My only quibble is that I couldn't get the edges to stay sealed (you can see in the picture that they split just a little bit). I don't have a crimping tool and had to use my hands. I thought I'd done a good job, but obviously it could have been better.

When thinking of an accompaniment I was drawn to chutney until I remembered I have some spiced pear butter I made this summer. It was perfect.

Courtney's Smoked Turkey Rissoles

Makes 16 rissoles - figure 2 per person as a side. Serve with a chutney or chunky jam or something similar - I had some spiced pear butter I made in October with it and it was absolutely perfect.

approx. 2 c cooked smoked turkey - combination of parts; can also include giblets, but exclude skin or any bones
2 large fresh sage leaves
2 large cloves garlic
black pepper and salt

1/2 c veloute sauce (made using fat and stock from the smoked turkey, if possible)
1 stem from large mushroom, diced into 1/8" pieces

1 sheet puff pastry

Preheat oven to 375F.

Snip the sage leaves into approx 1/4" pieces. Peel the garlic and slice each clove into 3 or 4 pieces.

Combine the turkey, sage, garlic, and a generous amount of black pepper in a food processor. Process until finely minced. Turn out into a bowl and add salt to taste.

When making the veloute sauce, saute the chopped mushroom stem in the butter or fat until just cooked. Then continue making the veloute as normal.

Add the veloute to the turkey mixture and combine. Cool.

Roll the puff pastry very thin. Cut into a 4 x 4 grid of squares. Put a small ball of turkey mixture in the center of each square. Fold the pastry over to make a triangle and pinch to seal. If desired, brush pastry with an egg wash (I didn't).

Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until done. You can just turn off the oven and let them sit and stay warm after, they'll keep for a couple of hours no problem.

If you have leftovers, don't microwave them! Reheat at 300F for 10 minutes.