I love left over cooked bird meat because there are so many recipes you can make with them!!! My mom made this sauce often sometimes with salmon, sometimes with chicken, served over puff pastry. C’est une sauce très versatile et utile pour les restants dans le frigo!

This time I made a Bechamel sauce with turkey and veggies. This could easily be served over puffed pastry, pour in between pie crust or over pasta. The day after US thanksgivings we were not looking for a filling meal, so I served it on its own with homemade garlic bread.

This is one of those recipes were you can make a lot of variations based on the leftover you have in your fridge or freezer 🙂

Ingredients

Bechamel sauce:

• 5 tbsp flour
• 5 tbsp butter
• 2 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of milk (or all milk)
• 1 tsp paprika, garlic salt, celery salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper and salt

Note: you can adjust this for a smaller recipe to 3 tbsp of butter and flour and 2 cups of liquid. You adjust the liquid versus roux based on the thickness you are looking for.

Filling: these ingredients are just suggestions, you can mix and match whatever you have or like. I usually like to freeze left over broccoli that will not be used by cutting it in florets and then it is ready to throw in a sauce like this one.

• 2 carrots diced
• 2 branches of celery diced
• 1 onion diced
• 1/2 cups of sliced mushrooms
• brocoli and/or cauliflower if you have some
• 1/2 cup each of frozen peas and corn (and green beans if you have some)
• 1 cup of cooked turkey/chicken or as much as you like

Note: when I fix up a celery or use florets from a broccoli, I freeze the ends and stems in a plastic bag  for future use in a broth. You can make your own veggie or chicken broth at no cost!

For the Bechamel, melt the butter first in a cast iron pot, add the flour and whisk for a minute or so until it is well combined and a bit brown. This is called making a “roux” and is the basis for thickening a sauce. Add all the spices and mix well. Pour the liquid slowly as you whisk, so it incorporates well only a bit at a time. Bring to a boil over medium heat and keep stirring until it becomes thick and creamy. Do not stop whisking as it will become lumpy.

In a separate pot, melt some butter, add the onions and stir until translucent. Add all the other vegetables and stir every now and again until they are soft. Add the turkey and pour the Bechamel sauce on top. Stir everything together and heat through.

This is a very easy and inexpensive recipe that can be served casually on a weekday or prettied up for entertaining in a bread bowl, in a pie for chicken pot pie or over puff pastry.