A Nice Side-Dish

A leftover-turkey dish written in the shorthand of a cook who already knew what she was doing. Two words need translating before anything else, and the rest is assembly.

• "Mince meat" is not mincemeatNo fruit, suet or spice is intended. It means turkey meat minced — chopped fine, or put through a grinder — and has nothing to do with the sweet pie filling of the same name.
• What "stewed" means hereThe chopped turkey is simmered in gravy or stock until it is moist and holds together, roughly the consistency of a thick hash. The original gives no quantity of liquid and no timing; already-cooked turkey needs only a short simmer to take up the liquid without going stringy.
• The rice borderBoiled long-grain rice is pressed into a ring around the inside edge of the baking dish with the turkey mounded in the centre. It wants to be on the firm, dry side — rice cooked soft will slump and weep. Rice from the day before works well.
• Oven heatThe dish is only being browned, not cooked through. No temperature is given; in a modern oven a hot setting of around 425F for 15-20 minutes would colour the rice edge, while a moderate 350F would take longer and risk drying the meat out.
• Brushing the topThe recipe says nothing about fat, but without some drippings or butter brushed over the rice it will pale and crust rather than brown.
• The garnishHard-boiled eggs would be sliced into rounds or quartered lengthwise and laid over the meat after baking rather than before, which is what the recipe's "then garnish" implies; they toughen in the oven.
• YieldThe recipe gives no quantities at all. Roughly equal volumes of minced turkey and cooked rice would fill a medium baking dish and stretch to four or six, depending on whether it goes to table as a light main or as the side dish the title promises.