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Our Turkey Divan recipe is a delicious from-scratch version of a classic dish that dates back to the early 1900’s. It’s a wonderful way to create a second meal with your leftover Thanksgiving turkey and gravy.
Originally made with chicken, broccoli and almonds then topped with Mornay sauce (a white sauce made with Gruyère Swiss cheese) and a crispy crumb topping, this creamy and comforting meal was named after the Divan Parisienne Restaurant at the Chatham Hotel in New York City.
According to this article, a chef named Lagasi, created it as part of a recipe contest that garnered him a small cash prize, plus bragging rights for having his recipe served as the hotel’s signature dish on the menu. In French, the word ‘divan’ refers to a meeting place or great hall, and it seems that the name of the dish was chosen to imply a kind of continental elegance.
Over the years, chicken or Turkey Divan became a ‘quick’ meal made with canned cream of chicken soup and processed cheese which (not to be snobbish) really does diminish the original delicious meal. The prep time for this fully-made-from-scratch Turkey Divan is only 15 minutes, plus 30 minutes to bake in the oven – and the flavor is so much better!
Turkey Divan is creamy, delicious comfort food at its best – and this is one of the Thanksgiving leftover meals that I look forward to the most after the holiday.
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Turkey Divan
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound fresh broccoli florets
- 1/2 pound leftover turkey meat, cubed
- 2 cups leftover turkey gravy
- 1/4 cup half and half, or heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon sherry
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- Few grinds fresh nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded Gruyère Swiss cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place a medium sauce pan of water on to boil and plunge in the broccoli. Cook two minutes then remove to paper towels to drain and cool. Once cool, place in a small casserole dish. Our oval shaped casserole dish holds five cups in volume.
- Place cut up turkey in with broccoli.
- In a medium sauce pan, heat gravy and whisk in the cream, sherry, mustard, mayonnaise and nutmeg. Heat just to hot and pour over the turkey and broccoli.
- In a medium sauté pan, melt butter over medium heat and add panko bread crumbs. Cook until browned, about five minutes, stirring often.
- Sprinkle almonds, Parmesan and Swiss over gravy then top with toasted bread crumbs.
- Bake for 30 minutes uncovered until hot, bubbly and browned.
- Serve immediately.
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Came out great! Couldn’t get a pic before everyone dug in.
So glad the recipe was a hit Donna!
Can you make this ahead?
Hi Franks – Yes, you can make this ahead of time and reheat before serving. I’d suggest covering it with foil during the reheat so the top doesn’t dry out and brown too much.
Turned out great! Absolutely delicious. Made this for my sister and husband. Raved about it. Will definitely keep this in my “ Best Recipes that Work” file. Thanks so much.
Thank you Evelyn!
I’d like to make this for my husband’s birthday this week. I don’t have turkey gravy. What’s the best substitute?
Hi Melanie – You can make your own – see this recipe: https://www.afamilyfeast.com/perfect-turkey-gravy/ – if you want to streamline the process, you can swap in canned chicken or turkey broth – then begin at step 5 of this recipe. Hope this helps!
I made this last night with leftover thanksgiving turkey. It was good. Made it exactly like the recipe directed
Comments:
If you don’t like alcohol in your cooking, here is a website that tells how to make a substitute for sherry: http://www.livestrong.com/article/512633-how-to-replace-sherry-when-cooking/
I was leery of dumping two whole cups of gravy into the dish as other turkey divan recipes don’t call for this, and I feared it would be to liquidy and gravyish. So, I served it with a cup of minute rice to soak up the gravy. If you don’t like rice, I’d cut back the gravy by 1/2 cup.
I loved the crunchy crumb topping. I only had regular unseasoned bread crumbs, not panko, and it worked fine.
I suggest adding pepper and thyme. I cook often with sherry and mustard, and these two spices are common sidekicks!
Thanks Alice!
One more recipe simply printed to contribute to my “Jack and Martha” binder. Delighted thanksgiving Martha … This looks divine.
Thanks Alma!
Hi Cathy – I’m guessing that you are looking for an non-alcoholic substitute? If so, I’ve seen some online articles that recommend swapping apple cider vinegar and water (using a 50/50 mix of the two to make the same quantity as the sherry called for in the recipe.) The recipe won’t taste exactly the same since sherry has a very distinctive flavor – but it’s an option.
I have two comments. 1. Couldn’t Cathy just replace the sherry with chicken broth? 2. I don’t think you are being a snob at all. Anytime I can make homemade, I will. Sometimes that is to my detriment though because I’m learning (stress ‘learning’!!!) to make gluten free food, since I have to eat that way now. I really like your recipes and when I can, I make them gluten free.
Hi Jeannette – Thank you! Sure – Cathy could use chicken broth instead but it won’t really add much to the flavor of the dish. The sherry adds a little extra ‘something’ to the flavor of this recipe! I hope you are able to successfully adapt the recipe to gluten free. 🙂
Martha,
Another recipe just printed to add to my “Jack and Martha” binder.
With Thanksgiving approaching, I am already planning leftover dinners and containers of broth for cold-weather soup. I can’t help it, I was taught to be thrifty, not wasteful.
Hope your family has a blessed Thanksgiving.
Linda
We do the exact same thing Linda! In fact, Jack just made two big pots of chicken stock from various veggies, bones, Parmesan rinds, etc that we’ve collected in the freezer. Both of our parents grew up in the Depression so it was it ingrained in us too! Hope you enjoy the Turkey Divan!