November 4, 2016

Turkey and apple cheddar-biscuit pie

Skillet of finished turkey and apple cheddar biscuit pie.

This meal is full-on autumn comfort food at its best! Turkey, apples, and vegetables in a cider gravy all topped with light and buttery cheddar biscuits and baked until golden and bubbly. 

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It has easily become a new favorite of ours. This recipe is a modified version of a similar dish in one of my favorites books: Apples of Uncommon Character: Heirlooms, Modern Classics, & Little-known Wonders. It's not a cookbook, but a beautiful book all about apples that also has 20 apple recipes in the back. I sometimes dream of living on an apple orchard one day and have a bit of an obsession with all the different varieties and with apple recipes

This dish is delicious as is, but I think different vegetables would also work very well such as replacing the celery with celery root, replacing the potato with turnip or rutabaga, or even adding a bit of cubed winter squash like butternut. This recipe will serve about four to five people.

Serving turkey and apple cheddar biscuit pie on a serving plate.

Turkey and apple cheddar-biscuit pie
for the filling:
olive oil
1 lb ground turkey (we prefer dark meat for ground)
1 medium onion, diced
2 large carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, halved lengthwise and diced
1 medium potato, diced
1 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced 
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups apple cider
1-1/4 cups chicken stock/broth
1 large apple, cored and diced (I like a firm, tart apple)
fresh parsley, for garnish, optional

for the topping:
2 cups all-purpose flour 
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 cup grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup milk

In a 9- or 10-inch cast-iron skillet, heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the turkey and brown, stirring often. When cooked through, move the turkey to the edges of the pan and stir in the onion, carrot, celery, and potato. Add more oil, if needed. Cook until the onion is translucent. Stir everything together and then stir in the sage, poultry season, a bit of salt and pepper, and the garlic. Cook for one minute and then stir in the flour and cook for another minute.

Add the cider and broth and stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan. Bring to boil and reduce to a simmer. Let cook until the vegetables are just about fork tender and the gravy thickens.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and make the topping. 

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with your fingers until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in the cheese and then the milk until just combined. Set aside.

When the gravy has thickened, stir in the apple. Turn off the heat.

Drop the biscuit dough by the tablespoons full across the top of the skillet. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the biscuits are golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Top with parsley, if desired.

Finished turkey and apple cheddar biscuit pie.

24 comments:

  1. this sounds delicious, amy! so many yummy fall flavors :)

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  2. Totally irresistible! It's not only delicious, also very comforting, Amy.

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  3. I do a chicken pot pie with biscuits on top! So good as I bet this is too!

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  4. These are flavour combinations I cannot imagine as they are 'foreign' to me. But it sounds seriously good and worth trying :)

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  5. Great meal for fall weather! It would be gone in a flash here!

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  6. Perfect comfort food! This would be so great on a chilly fall evening. :)

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  7. Looks like a great family meal to sit down to on a weekend evening!

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  8. Fun dish! SO much flavor. I love celery root, so I might add that in addition to the celery, instead of as a substitute. :-) Really good -- thanks.

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  9. I love all the fall flavors here. And, I really want to try making a cider gravy!

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  10. Mmm ... this definitely sounds like the perfect fall dish. I'd love it!

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  11. If I had to pick the perfect fall meal this would be it! Love it!

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  12. I want to dive right into those biscuits! I love that you added apple to it - an unexpected surprise! The entire thing looks incredibly delicious.

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  13. I'm with Reeni...those biscuits look amazing! In fact, this whole dish looks amazing! Love the addition of the apple and how you made it so special with those biscuit.

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  14. Thanks so much for adding this recipe to my inaugural link party. This sounds like a great dish for me to bring to a potluck. Hope you'll come back in January for our First Monday Favorite Recipes.

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  15. comfort food at it's best! Thank you for sharing at our apple celebration of Celebrate 365 Blog Party!

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  16. That right there is a wonderful skillet full of comfort. So versatile too. I think you could change up the meat to use whatever leftovers you have on hand.

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  17. Biscuits, biscuits, biscuits...they totally make a meal amazing! And what's underneath...even better!!!

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  18. This sounds so flavorful and perfect for fall. I'd bet winter squash would be great in it as well!

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  19. You had me at biscuits hehehe. PINNED!

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  20. Pure comfort food! I bet adding or substituting a sweet potato would be great too!

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  21. This looks so tasty and comforting! I love those cheesy biscuits on top!

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  22. This is fall comfort food at its best. I may just be making this over the weekend.

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  23. I love all of the ingredients, perfect for this time of year!

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