Turkey and Mushroom Pie

Quite often the starts of a casserole is inspired by an ingredient that catches my eye when I'm in the pantry. One of my purchases in my recent foodie finds was Nishiki rice. This is a new medium grain rice variety that is ideal for sushi. As things sometimes happens with foodies, I was pouring the rice into a mason jar for vacuum sealing when a strong craving for sticky rice came over me. I was off on another tangent. I set up the rice maker to make 3 cups then waited patiently for my sticky rice. When the rice was cooked I scooped out a cup, added a pat of butter and just a dash of salt. While I was eating my delicious little snack I got a what if moment for using up the rest of the sticky rice. Here's what I came up with.

Turkey and Mushroom Pie

Sticky rice is called sticky because the higher starch content causes it to stick together, a rather desirable trait when making sushi. Based on that same principle I reasoned that sticky rice could be shaped into a crust then filled. I decided to use left-over turkey from the freezer in keeping with using something from the freezer daily. The end result was a lovely, casserole type dish that had a lot of flavour!

Turkey and Mushroom Pie
recipe by: Garden Gnome

2 c cooked sushi rice
3 tbsp butter
2 c cooked turkey
½ small onion
½ c frozen peas
½ tsp garlic/onion seasoning
½ tsp Old Bay Seasoning
2 cans condensed mushroom soup
⅓ c milk
1 c sliced sautéed mushrooms

Cook the sushi rice. Mix 2 tbsp of the butter with the rice while still warm then press into glass pie plate. Set aside. Chop the onion then caramelize in the remaining butter. Remove from heat and drain. Sautée mushroom slices in a little butter. Remove from heat and set aside. Cut turkey into bite sized pieces. Pour turkey pieces into mixing bowl then stir in onions, seasonings, soup and milk. Stir in peas last. Pour the filling into the prepared rice shell. Top with sautéed mushrooms. Bake at 180ºC/350ºC until centre is hot. Remove from oven. Serve.

Bon Appétit!