Turkey Fricasse

Turkey Fricasse
From: gardentraveler

Inspired by my Puerto Rican friend's Pollo en fricasé, one of my favorite comfort foods. I made this one a ojo porciento, i.e. improvised, so amounts can vary to your taste. I used some ingredients you might not have and have listed easy substitutes.  It'll be very tasty any way you make it.

3 cubes of frozen sofrito* (or substitute a combination of :1/2 cup or so finely chopped onion, 2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced; generous handful of cilantro, minced)
3 cups or so of leftover turkey roughly chopped

1/4 of an 8 oz. jar of alcaparrado (olives, pimiento and capers; substitute stuffed olives)
1 envelope tropical sazón (available in the Hispanic section of your grocery; it often contains MSG, so watch out if you're sensitive to that; if you don't use this, add 1/3 or so more onion and garlic)
1 envelope Swanson's chicken flavor boost (or bouillon)
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
2 bay leaves
5 peppercorns
1 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. wine
3 yukon gold potatoes
10 or so baby carrots
1/2 cup frozen peas

Saute the sofrito or onion/garlic/cilantro in a bit of olive oil until fragrant.  Add turkey-wine and then add water just to cover.  Stir to ensure ingredients are mixed.

Cook over low heat for about an hour. Turkey will be softened and sauce should be reduced a bit.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  It should be a bit saltier than you want, since the potatoes and carrots will absorb quite a bit of salt.

Add potatoes and continue to simmer for about 20 minutes; potatoes should still be very firm.  Add carrots and simmer for another 10 minutes.  Add peas, stir thoroughly and remove from heat.

It will taste really good at this point, but if you have a reasonable amount of will power you should let it cool and refrigerate it overnight to let the flavors blend properly.

It tastes wonderful by itself, but Puerto Ricans serve it over rice. You can also add green pepper slices or a small jar of chopped red pimientos and a little bit of cayenne if you like.

 *Every few weeks, I make a simple sofrito, which is a finely ground mixture of onion, garlic and other herbs and vegetables that varies from country to country. In my case it's a mixture of onion, garlic and cilantro, chopped very finely in a food processor, frozen in an ice cube tray, and then stored in a ziploc bag; I also make cubes out of just onion and garlic. My great grandmother always kept a jar of ground onion and garlic in the fridge and started many recipes out by sauteing it in olive oil.