Recipe: turkey hotpot

It's a great way to use the remains of the Christmas turkey.  At other times, it makes a very frugal meal using one of those turkey drumsticks you can buy so cheaply at times and which have such a great flavour.

In our family, we have always called this 'hotpot'.  It isn't really - my understanding is that real hotpot is a layered affair with a sliced potato topping.  Mine is more like a casserole or a very chunky soup.
However, it is tasty, and warming, a real family favourite, and here's what I did.

You need:
turkey meat, white and/or brown, off the carcass
leftover ham is also nice and gives a great flavour but I've used up my Christmas ham so didn't this time around
turkey stock, ideally, although I have used a mixture of chicken stock cube and Marigold veg bouillon powder and it was jolly good.
a variety of vegetables, predominantly root veg (I tend to use carrot, shallots, parsnips, sweet potato, celery and potato)
I also add shredded sprouts, if I have them, but really you can add anything - peppers, mushrooms, etc.  I like the 'earthiness' of the root veg.
oil
herbs, seasonings -  I use bay leaves, mixed herbs and some dried mustard powder with salt and pepper
garlic - I use puree

Method
Peel the shallots.  You can slice them, I cut then into quarters
Peel the veg and cut to approximately the same size - good sized chunks.  If it's a veg that discolours, pop the chunks into water temporarily.
Peel and shred the sprouts and set aside
If necessary, cut the turkey into similar sized chunks

Heat some oil or a mixture of oil and butter in a good sized pan.  Throw in the onion, mix well, turn the heat down and let it saute for ten minutes.  Then add the ham (if using) and the rest of the root veg (but not the sprouts), mix again, cover and saute slowly for ten to fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally.
(If you're using veg like peas, corn, peppers, mushroom, etc, they can go in towards the end)

Tip in the turkey stock, bay leaves, garlic puree, mixed dried herbs, bit of salt, garlic, some pepper and mustard powder.  If necessary, top up with some commercial stock - I use Knorr lower salt chicken granules.
Bring to a simmer, covered, and let it bubble very gently away until all the root vegetables are soft.  Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Add the shredded sprouts and stir in (the take very little cooking).  Then carefully add the chunks of turkey and 'fold' in so that they don't break up.  The reason for adding them at the end is that you want the chunks to stay whole, not to mush.  Let the whole thing simmer for another two or three minutes and it's ready to be ladled into a bowl and eaten with crusty bread, grated cheese, croutons and/or other lovely toppings.

It freezes well.