Turkey Salad the slow way

This would have taken a lot less time if I'd bought a turkey leg and simply roasted it, but I enjoy playing with ingredients that aren't often used in Swedish cooking! I think all the bones in the necks add a bit more flavour to the meat too.

Ingredients:

1 kg turkey necks
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sumac
2 tbsp oil for frying
3-4 tbsp chili flakes
1 tbsp tomato paste
6 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp cayenne
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp crushed black pepper
4 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice
250 ml water
5-6 leaves iceberg lettuce, torn in large pieces
200 ml diced cucumber
200 ml diced tomatoes
1 medium red onion, sliced
leaves from 6-7 sprigs of parsley
2 pieces of white cheese
250g fusilli or other pasta

Rinse the necks to get rid of any blood and dirt, then pat them dry with a paper towel and sprinkle salt and sumac all around. Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the necks on all sides. Or all sides possible, at least - the inside curve is a bit hard to reach, so just baste it with the juices from the pan.

Pour the juices from the frying pan into a small dutch oven and put the necks in. It's better if they overlap a little rather than having too much room.

Mix all the spices, the garlic, tomato paste, hoisin sauce and lemon juice together in a bowl, then pour the sauce onto the turkey necks, spreading it out to cover as much as possible. Add water to cover the necks about halfways and turn the heat on.

When the liquid starts boiling, turn the heat down to low and put a lid on, then let the necks simmer for 2-3 hours (or even longer, if the necks are very thick.) Check every now and then and add more water to make sure they don't dry out.

When you can easily pull away flakes of meat with a fork, the necks are done. Remove them from the broth and let them cool until you can handle them. Strain the sauce and save it, it's a nice base for soup, or for cooking rice in.

Use your hands or a fork to tear off bitesized chunks of meat and skin from the turkey necks, setting the bones aside for making more broth some other day.

Put the turkey meat, parsley, onion and all the vegetables in a large bowl. Cut the cheese into smaller chunks and add them too.

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package, then rinse in cold water until lukewarm, then add to the salad, and mix everything. Or put the pasta in a separate bowl if there's no room for it in the salad! Serve with cider vinegar, mayo and chili flakes for toppings.

(Photos taken with my iPad or iPhone unless otherwise noted. Food cooked by me. Opinions all my own too!)

BTW, does anyone know if I need to keep all the images I have used in all my posts in the gallery, or can I delete them from there?