What to do with turkey or chicken breast leftovers? You can make an ordinary sandwich or you can take the time to make a mouth watering, “let’s have that again tomorrow night” kind of sandwich. I want to say that the bread doesn’t matter, but in this case it really does. The taste factor of each ingredient, actually is what brings this sandwich together beautifully. The turkey or chicken breast should be from a homemade roast or find a deli that makes there own roasts without additives or preservatives. If you do not have leftovers and cannot find a local deli that makes their own roasts, purchase turkey or chicken breasts with bone-in and with skin as this will help retain moisture in the meat when baking. There are a number of quick instructional recipes for cooking breasts. Here is one link: https://www.cooksillustrated.com/articles/177-how-to-cook-bone-in-chicken-breasts
Caramelized Onion and Chipotle Turkey Sandwich
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes (varies on whether using leftovers,purchasing or making your own)
Servings: recipe is portioned for 3-4 sandwiches
Ingredients:
3 tbsp of olive oil or ghee
4 medium onions, thinly sliced
1-2 tbsp of a thick balsamic vinegar (the longer the aged the better)
1 tsp of honey
1/2 cup of mayonnaise, (I use Soy-Free Veganaise)
1 avocado, cut
2 tbsp of lime juice
1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
1/4 tsp of pepper, portioned 1/8
1/4 tsp of sea salt
1/2 tsp of chipotle powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 loaf of a whole grain artisan sourdough bread
1-2 white meat breasts
freshly rinsed butter lettuce leaves, romaine or arugula
Preparation:
Have your chicken or turkey breast ready to go by slicing the breast meat into lengthwise comfortable bitesize widths.
Prepare your greens by rinsing, spinning and patting dry
Step One: Caramelizing the onions (Quick Version).
As onions cook, they shrink down considerably and therefore you will use about one onion per sandwich. In order to get a true rich onion caramelization, you need to saute your onion for about 1 hour. This is a quicker, yet still tasty version. Also, contrary to what many people do, you do not want to sauté the onions quickly or use high heat.
Using a fry pan, set heat to medium on stovetop. Add the olive oil or ghee. Allow to heat or melt, add onions. Turn down to low-medium heat, sprinkle with sea salt and stir occasionally for 20-25 minutes. The onions will begin to steam,sauté and turn golden then darken. Once darkened, add balsamic vinegar turn heat off and stir well. Feel free to add a dash of salt and pepper (1/8 tsp). Set aside.
Step Two: Creaming the Avocado
In a small bowl place the avocado and 1 tablespoon of lime juice. Take a fork and cream the two ingredients together.
Step Three: Making the Chipotle Sauce
In another small bowl, place the mayonnaise, smoked paprika, pepper( 1/8 tsp), salt, chipotle, turmeric, 1 tablespoon of lime juice, 1 tsp of honey and mix well.
Step Four: Putting it all together
On each slice of bread, spread the chipotle; on one slice spread the avocado; add your chicken or turkey, top with caramelized onions and greens.
Meal Tips/Preparation:
add sides like tomato, pickles or sweet potato fries
chipotle sauce is great on sweet potato fries
use wholegrain sourdough bread