Leftover turkey? Try this delicious taco recipe!

I hope you had a wonderful, healthy, and happy celebration yesterday with family and friends.  You probably look forward to enjoying the leftovers just as much as you do sitting down to the Thanksgiving Day meal itself!

So, today, I’m sharing with you my recipe for turkey mole (pronounced mo-LAY) tacos. It’s a creative, tasty way to make good use of your leftover turkey.

Of course, traditional turkey mole is the national dish of Mexico. And most of the ingredients in this spicy, smoky dish originated from Meso-America—including the turkey itself, chocolate, tomatoes, tomatillos, and hot red peppers.

Now, before you raise an eyebrow at the unusual combination of ingredients and flavors, trust me when I say that it comes together beautifully. (After all, there’s a reason it’s Mexico’s national dish…it’s THAT delicious!)

Here’s what you’ll need to make it…

Turkey Mole Tacos

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of cooked, organic, free-range turkey
  • 1 red onion, chopped and divided
  • Approximately 2/3 cup of olive oil, divided
  • ½ cup turkey broth (make by boiling the turkey carcass in water)
  • 2 tbsp bittersweet dark chocolate (at least 90 percent cacao)
  • 2 tbsp hot red pepper sauce
  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • 8 oz small mushrooms (cremini or shiitake), quartered
  • 6 medium tomatillos, husked and cubed
  • 4 ripe tomatoes, cubed
  • 6 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 whole avocado, cubed and mashed
  • 4 tbsp fresh lime juice, divided
  • ¼ green or red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 2 cups fresh cilantro, chopped and divided
  • 6 organic corn tortillas

Directions:

  1. First, sauté the turkey, ½ the chopped red onion, and 2 tbsp olive oil in turkey broth until crisp and brown.
  2. To create a tomatillo mix, start by heating the oven to 325 degrees F. Then, in a small bowl, add husked tomatillos, tomatoes, garlic, ½ cup olive oil, and sea salt. Spread mixture onto a baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes or until soft. Remove from oven and set aside.
  3. For the mole sauce, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet or wok on medium-high. Add mushrooms and hot red pepper sauce, and toss for four to six minutes.
  4. Then, stir in your prepared tomatillo mix, chocolate pieces, and tahini. (Add an additional ¼ cup of turkey broth if the sauce is too thick.)
  5. Continue to simmer the mole sauce for another five minutes on medium-high.
  6. Add cubed turkey/onion sauté mixture to the mole sauce and continue cooking for another one or two minutes. When heated through, set aside.
  7. To make the avocado mash for your turkey mole tacos, combine one whole, ripe, cubed avocado with 2 tbsps of fresh lime juice and a pinch of salt in a small bowl.
  8. For the fresh slaw, toss together green or red cabbage, 2 tbsp fresh lime juice, soy sauce, and 1 cup of cilantro in a small bowl.
  9. Spoon turkey mole mixture into organic corn tortillas and top with avocado smash, cabbage slaw, the remaining fresh, red onions (to taste), and 1 cup of cilantro.

This delicious recipe makes about six tacos. (One taco has about 365 calories, 28 grams of healthy fats, 14 grams of protein, 18 grams of complex carbs, and 7 grams of fiber.)

Plus, since it uses organic, free-range turkey, you get essential amino acids, proteins, and other key nutrients that I told you about earlier this week. The tomatoes are full of the healthy carotenoid, lycopene, which protects the prostate. (For even more prostate benefits, add ¼ cup of ground, roasted pumpkin or squash seeds into the mole sauce mixture.)

The capsaicin and carotenoids in the hot red pepper sauce add potent properties, strongly associated with health and longevity, in numerous studies. Avocado gives you healthy essential fats. Cabbage is packed with healthy nutrients, and cilantro brings its own unique benefits.

In other words…it’s the perfect tasty combo, and a great and healthy way to dig into those Thanksgiving Day leftovers. Enjoy!

Here’s what else I covered in this week’s Daily Dispatch

P.S.  I’ll be sharing more recipes in the New Year, right here in my Daily Dispatch, as well as in my monthly Insiders’ Cures newsletter. So be sure to keep reading! And if you have a tasty, nutritious recipe you’d like for me to try—or write about—leave me a comment on Facebook or send me an e-mail ([email protected]).