Lemon Parmesan Leftover Turkey Risotto
Christmas leftovers are transformed into creamy Lemon Parmesan Turkey Risotto. This easy recipe combines zesty lemon, garlic, vermouth and plenty of parmesan to create a comforting one-pot dinner.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 542kcal
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 large white onion
- 2 celery sticks
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 lemon
- 120 ml dry vermouth or white wine
- 300 g arborio rice
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 900-1100 g stock
- 300-400 g cooked turkey white and dark meat, diced
- 75 g parmesan grated
- 1 egg yolk
- Parsley to serve
Instructions
- Pour the stock into a medium sized saucepan and heat on low whilst you are preparing the risotto base.
- Peel and dice the onion and celery into small 1 cm pieces.
- Place a large casserole pot or saucepan on the stove and heat for a couple of minutes on a medium heat. Add the olive oil and butter and wait for the butter to melt then add the onion and celery. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
- Add the crushed garlic, stir for about 30 seconds then add the zest of the lemon, the salt and pepper and the rice. Stir the rice well to fry it and coat it with the oil and aromatics for 1-2 minutes.
- Pour in the vermouth (or white wine), keep stirring it into the rice and allow it to cook off for 1-2 minutes.
- Add a ladleful of the hot stock directly from the saucepan and stir into the rice allowing it to absorb. Once the rice has absorbed all the stock then add another ladleful. Keep stirring all the while so it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan. Carry on allowing the rice to absorb the stock and adding more as you need to whilst stirring for about 15 minutes at which point most of the stock will have been used up.
- Add the turkey pieces, along with a ladleful of stock, stirring in until they are evenly distributed in the risotto. Keep adding more stock as you need to (maybe another 5 minutes) until the rice is looking and feeling plump without much chalkiness. Make sure not to break the turkey up too much as you are stirring.
- Taste to check if the rice is cooked. It should be soft but with a slight bite to the centre (not a crunch).
- As soon as you are happy with the texture of the rice (you might not need all the stock) and the liquid has been absorbed then turn off the heat.
- Stir the parmesan and egg yolk into the risotto along with a good squeeze of lemon juice. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if needed.
- Place the lid onto the risotto and allow to rest for 2-3 minutes whilst you get the bowls ready, this helps the risotto settle and finish absorbing all the flavours and stock.
- Serve immediately with a sprinkling of fresh parsley and cracked black pepper.
Notes
Turkey. You can use either white meat, dark meat or a mixture between the two. 300-400g is enough to serve 4 people. I tend to go with however much I have left, even if it’s just 200g it will be fine and you can always supplement with a side salad.
Homemade stock. How To Make Homemade Turkey Stock.
Dairy-free. Use just olive oil and not the butter too and swap the parmesan for a plant-based parmesan which are available in larger supermarkets.
Instant Pot method. You can make this risotto in the Instant Pot. You will only need about 700g stock and make sure to add your turkey in at the end after 6 minutes of high pressure cooking. There are more detailed instructions in the post above.
Re-heating / freezing. If you are using leftover turkey then it is not recommended to make up the whole of this recipe with the risotto to re-heat or freeze for a later date. The Food Standards Agency recommends only re-heating poultry once to adhere to food safety practices.
Ingredient measurements: Please note when you see ‘grams’ listed as opposed to ‘millilitres,’ or any other term of measurement, that is not incorrect. I weigh all of my ingredients, including liquids, for accuracy.
US customary measurements: These US measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups
Nutrition information: Please note that the nutrition information provided below is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use. Please seek a professional nutritionist’s advice for further clarification.
The nutrition serving is for 1 serving of risotto, assuming you are portioning the recipe into 4 servings.
Nutrition
Calories: 542kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 1732mg | Potassium: 346mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 792IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 256mg | Iron: 4mg