Turkey & Rocket Salad with Macadamias
Submitted by debi_howard
Turkey and rocket salad with macadamias tosses sliced turkey in a toasted macadamia-garlic paste dressing, served over peppery greens with chopped nuts and chives. A clever leftover-turkey makeover.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
0 minREADY
30 minThis is the salad that rescues Thanksgiving leftovers from another cold sandwich fate. Toasted macadamia nuts pull double duty here: half go into a food processor with garlic, vinegar, and seasoning to make a creamy nut paste dressing, the other half get roughly chopped and scattered over the top for crunch.
The macadamia paste is the genius move. When processed with garlic, it creates a thick, almost buttery coating that clings to every slice of turkey without needing mayonnaise or oil. The toasted nuts bring natural fat plus a rich, buttery flavor that works with the lean turkey.
Rocket (arugula) brings peppery bite that cuts through the richness of the nut dressing. Chives at the finish add fresh onion snap. Fast, clean, and worlds away from another turkey sandwich.
Kitchen Tips
- Toast the macadamias until you smell them, not a second longer. Over-toasted nuts turn bitter fast.
- Use a food processor, not a blender. Blenders turn the nuts to paste too quickly and then liquefy them.
- Slice the turkey against the grain. Cross-grain slicing keeps every bite tender rather than stringy.
- Dress the turkey first, then arrange. Tossing the greens directly wilts them; drizzling leftover dressing keeps them crisp.
Variations
Ingredients
Directions
Arrange the leaves on four plates.
Heat macadamia nuts in an ungreased container in the oven until they smell appetizing, then set half aside and tip the other half into the bowl of a food processor.
Add: 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped.
With salt and pepper process to a paste.
Slice or shred enough turkey for four people and gently loss it in the macadamia salad.
Arrange the dressed turkey on the prepared plates, drizzle left-over dressing over the salad leaves, Sprinkle with reserved macadamia nuts, roughly chopped, and finely chopped chives.
Serve.
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