Christmas Turkey Casserole with Sage, Onion and Brussels Sprouts

Christmas is but a week away and around the world, people will have their turkeys in their freezers, ready for defrosting in the middle of the week and cooking on the big day. What if you are spending Christmas alone, however, or perhaps only as part of a couple? A whole turkey is unlikely to be practical but turkey is still very much a menu option. This Christmas turkey casserole recipe is as easy as abc and is in the quantities required for one modest serving.

Ingredients

1 6oz turkey breast fillet
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 medium white onion
5 Brussels sprouts
1 tsp dried sage
1 pint fresh chicken stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil for sealing turkey meat
Freshly chopped parsley to garnish

Method

You may be wondering why I bought a 6oz piece of turkey breast instead of simply buying diced turkey. The reason is simply that experience has taught me, when I buy turkey meat already diced, it has been cut in to pieces which I deem to be too small. If you choose to buy the turkey already chopped, therefore, try to ensure it is in decent sized pieces of at least approximately one inch.

Put your oven on to preheat to 180C/350F. Chop the turkey breast fillet in to one inch pieces and gently seal in some warmed vegetable oil over a medium heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until evenly white and sealed. This should only take two or three minutes. Meanwhile, add the chicken stock to a separate pot and bring it up to a simmer. Half the onion half again and remove the seeds from the bell pepper, before slicing it in to strips of around half an inch. Remove any loose or damaged leaves from the Brussels sprouts.

Put the vegetables and the sealed turkey meat in to a deep casserole dish. Season with the dried sage, some sea salt and black pepper.

Pour in the chicken stock and put the lid on the casserole dish before placing it in to the oven for thirty minutes.

When the casserole comes out of the oven, I like to let it rest for ten to fifteen minutes prior to service but this is a matter of choice. It should then be added to a serving plate with a slotted spoon and the roughly chopped parsley added as a final garnish.

Wine is probably the alcoholic beverage of choice most often served with Christmas dinner. In this instance, however, I served this dish with a Christmas novelty beer picked up in my local supermarket. "Rudolph the Red Nosed White Horse," is a beer produced by the White Horse Brewery in Oxfordshire, only for the Chrsitmas market. It was actually very enjoyable and comes in at 4.8% ABV.