The Great Turkey Challenge, Day One: Tangy Turkey Salad

Today is the first day of The Great Turkey Challenge.

For lunch, I decided to make some turkey salad and stuff it in a whole wheat pita. Precooked turkey, especially the breast meat (which is what I have) tends to dry out easily, so the salad needs to have plenty of juicy ingredients. I also like some tang and sweetness to my meaty salads, and I like them chunky and well textured, so that will be addressed by adding some crunchy elements.

The method is simple: find things that combine well, chop more or less uniformly, and let them sit mixed in a bowl for an hour or so to develop some flavor relationships.

I didn’t have any relish in my fridge, but I found a batch of home made pickled lettuces that my mom made for New Year. It was still very good, and served well as tangy element.

Here is the What and How for this batch:

Tangy Turkey Salad

• 2 cups precooked turkey (I used homemade smoked breast meat), diced
• 3/4 cup celery stalks, chopped
• 1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
• 1/2 tart apple (I used Granny Smith), cored and diced
• 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup relish (I used home made pickled lettuce, chopped)
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp plain yoghurt
• 2-3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• salt, pepper to taste

Toss everything together and stir carefully to prevent mashing.

Set aside for 1 hr (not in the fridge), to develop flavor. Stuff into a pita, or serve between toasted sourdough slices.