Gobble, Gobble: Chef Stephan Pyles’ Turkey-Yam Hash with Warm Cranberry Mojo

Thanksgiving in West Texas has heavy southern and Hispanic influences, and one of my favorite early Thanksgiving memories is my discovery of tamales. I was most intrigued by the fact that they came in their own special “gift-wrapping.” That early fascination was enough inspiration for me to compose an entire book on the subject. I have even devised recipes that include tamal stuffing for the roast turkey. Today, as it was when I was young,  it’s simply not Thanksgiving without an array of tamales.

While this recipe isn’t for tamales, it’s one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes. This recipe makes a full brunch meal with a poached egg on top of the hash, and it’s the perfect solution for leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. Whenever I think of hash, I am always reminded of my days as chef’s assistant at the Mondavi Winery Great Chefs of France Program. For one of the luncheons, Marion Cunningham (the modern day Fannie Farmer) was preparing a Western version of red flannel hash for Michel Guerard. The winery had been transformed into a scene from the Old West, with bales of hay providing the backdrop, a Country-Western swing band and waiters wearing Western garb, with hats, boots and fringed jackets. I’m still not sure that Michel quite “got it”, but it was an incredible feast for the senses.

TURKEY-YAM HASH WITH WARM CRANBERRY MOJO

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 medium yam or sweet potato, peeled and cut into ¼ inch dice

4 tablespoons olive oil

? cup finely chopped onions

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

2 serrano chiles, seeded and minced

4 cups diced, cooked turkey

1? cups dried breadcrumbs or crumbled corn bread

1½ teaspoons salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon chopped cilantro

½ teaspoon chopped thyme

1 cup heavy cream

1 egg, beaten

cranberry mojo (recipe follows)

Procedure:

Cook the diced yam or sweet potato in boiling salted water for 1 minute, until barely tender. Drain and place in cold water.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat until lightly smoking, and sauté the onions, garlic, bell pepper, and serranos until the onion is translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the turkey, breadcrumbs or corn bread, salt, pepper, herbs, cream, and cooked yam or sweet potato. Remove from the heat and stir in the egg. Transfer to a mixing bowl and let cool slightly. Form into 8 patties, 4 inches wide and 1½ inches thick.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a clean skillet and cook the patties until brown on each side, about 2 minutes per side. Serve with the warm cranberry mojoj.

CRANBERRY MOJO

6 cups fresh cranberries

1 ½ cups sugar

5 cloves garlic, peeled

½ teaspoon cumin

1 habanero, seeds and stems removed

1 cups olive oil

1 ½ cups orange juice, reduced to ¾ cup

1 tablespoon Spanish sherry vinegar

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons chopped cilantro

Rough chop the cranberries with the sugar in a food processor in batches and set aside.

Puree the garlic, habaneros and cumin in the food processor and place in a large heat-proof mixing bowl.

Heat the oil in a pan to about 140 degrees then carefully pour into the garlic-habanero mixture and let sit until garlic not longer “sizzles”. Stir this into the cranberry-sugar mixture and add the reduced orange juice and sherry vinegar.

Add the salt and cilantro and combine thoroughly.

Stephan Pyles is the chef-owner of Stephan Pyles and Samar.