Stuffed Roast Turkey Breast Recipe

From Simply Recipes

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Even if you end up not eating the skin, it's important to wrap it around the turkey roll for roasting. It will bathe the turkey in flavor and will keep the breast from drying out.

INGREDIENTS
1 boneless turkey breast (about 2 lbs)
Butter, olive oil, OR bacon fat
Salt
1/4 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 thick slice of bacon*
1/4 cup minced shallot
2 Tbsp chopped dried cranberries
1 teaspoon minced sage
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoons chopped parsley
3 Tbsp turkey or chicken stock (can sub water)
1 turkey wing (optional)
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup turkey or chicken stock
Salt and pepper
Poultry seasoning

*If you don't eat bacon, you can skip, just use a generous tablespoon of butter instead, to sauté the shallots.

METHOD
1 Place dried porcini mushrooms in a bowl. Cover with hot water and let sit for 15 minutes or so while the bacon in the next step is cooking. Once rehydrated, then chop.
2 Slowly cook the bacon in a medium frying pan on medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon to a paper-towel lined plate. Once cool enough to touch, chop. You should have at least a tablespoon of fat in the pan. (If not, add butter or olive oil to make up the difference.) Heat the same pan on medium (do not drain the fat rendered out of the bacon), add the minced shallots and cook until the shallots begin to brown. Add the chopped dried cranberries, minced sage and chopped mushrooms. Stir well and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the breadcrumbs, the parsley, chopped bacon, and the turkey or chicken stock and stir well. You want a rough paste, something that will stick to itself. Remove from the heat and allow the stuffing to cool.
3 To make the stuffed turkey breast, remove the skin from the turkey in one piece and reserve. Put the turkey breast between two pieces of wax paper or plastic wrap and gently pound with a mallet until it is about 1/4 inch thick. (It may be easier to butterfly the breast first, depending on how big the breast is.)
4 Trim the pounded breast until it is roughly a rectangle. Spread a thin layer of the stuffing over the breast, leaving about 3/4 inch border around all sides. Tightly roll the breast lengthwise. Lay the skin over the top of the rolled breast and tuck any under the edges.
5 Tie the rolled turkey breast tightly with kitchen string and set it on a roasting pan. Paint it with olive oil, or smear butter or bacon fat over it and sprinkle with salt. If you want more drippings for gravy, place pieces of a turkey wing on the roasting pan as well.
6 Roast at 400° for 20 minutes, then drop the heat to 325° and roast for another 10-15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the breast reads about 155° on a meat thermometer.
7 Once the turkey reaches that temperature remove it from the roasting pan and tent it loosely with foil. Let it rest at least 10 minutes, and up to 25 minutes.
8 While the turkey breast is resting, if you want, you may be able to make a little gravy with the drippings. If you are only cooking the breast, and not the optional turkey wing as well, you may not have much to work with. But even a little bit of drippings can flavor a gravy. (If you really don't have much fat to work with, you can melt two tablespoons of butter into the roasting pan.) Take the roasting pan with drippings and place over two burners on the stove-top on medium (if using turkey wing, remove first). Sprinkle with flour and stir until the flour is incorporated into the drippings. Slowly add stock, whisking constantly, until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning or ground sage or thyme. Let simmer on the stove until thickened to your preference.

Yield: Serves 3-4.

Spiced Carrots with Cumin and Fresh Ginger Recipe

1 1/2 pounds carrots
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon agave, or 1 tsp. honey
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder, or cayenne pepper
salt and pepper, to taste

On medium high heat, place the carrots in a large pan with coconut oil, agave and 1/3 cup water. Season carrots with cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper and stir occasionally. Cook for about 20 minutes, until caramelized and tender.

Total time: 25 minutes
Yield: 2-4 servings

Honey-Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup

Makes 6-8 servings

Using a whole can of chipotle chiles yields a moderately spicy, but still balanced soup. Feel free to lessen the amount of chiles according to your tastes.

3 1/2 pounds orange-fleshed sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion, peeled, trimmed, and cut into 1 inch wedges
8 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons canola oil
3 to 4 tablespoons honey, divided
1 can (7 ounces) chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
kosher salt
6 to 8 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cups pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted
Extra virgin olive oil, to garnish

Preheat the oven to 425˚F. Finely chop the chipotle chiles, reserving the adobo sauce. In a large bowl, combine the sweet potatoes, onion, garlic, cloves, the adobo sauce, chopped chiles, canola oil, 3 tablespoons honey, and 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt. Toss well to coat. Spread in a single layer on two foil-lined baking sheets. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes, trading the position of the pans halfway through, until the potatoes are soft and are dark golden in spots.

Put the roasted vegetables into a large saucepan. Add 6 cups of the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Puree the soup using an immersion blender, or in batches in a normal blender. Be careful if blending hot soup in the blender–do so in small batches and hold the top on with a kitchen towel to avoid an eruption. Add the remaining 2 cups of broth as needed to thin out the soup. Season to taste with kosher salt, black pepper, and an additional tablespoon of honey if desired.

Garnish with a swirl of olive oil, a scattering of toasted pepitas, and a grinding of black pepper.

Refreshing cucumber, tomato and shrimp salad

INGREDIENTS

(serves 1)

* ½ seedless cucumber, diced
* 4-5 baby tomatoes, diced
* ½ frozen corn, cooked, drained and cooled
* 200g cooked shrimp
* 2 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped
* 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
* 2 tbsp fresh lemon thyme, chopped
* 2 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped

“Vinaigrette”

* ½ tsp fennel seeds, ground
* ¼ tsp salt
* ¼ tsp black pepper
* 2 tbsp lemon juice
* 1 tsp olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a mixing bowl, add the diced cucumber, tomatoes, cold corn kernels, cooked shrimp and chopped fresh herbs. Mix well and set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, add ground fennel seeds, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. Whisk until well incorporated.
3. Add to reserved salad and toss ligthly to coat evenly.
4. Garnish with fresh herbs and flowers.

Oven Baked BBQ Ribs

Ingredients

2 cups sliced onions
2 cups ketchup
2 cups water
4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
4 teaspoons dry mustard
4 pounds pork spareribs
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, combine onions, ketchup, water, salt, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and mustard. Split ribs down the center between the bones.
Heat a large lightly oiled skillet over medium-high heat. Add ribs and sear until browned. This may have to be done in several batches.
Place ribs in a single layer in two baking pans or casserole dishes. Pour half of the sauce over the ribs, reserve remainder.
Bake ribs in preheated oven for 3 hours. Turn and baste meat every twenty minutes with remaining sauce, using all sauce by two hours. Continue turning and basting ribs using sauce in the pan during the last hour of baking.

Peas and Feta Salad

Ingredients:

salad:
3 1/2 cups peas (fresh or frozen)
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs sliced fresh mint
1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
feta

Method:

blanch peas in boiling water for 1 1/2 to 3 minutes then drain and rinse with cold water. drain again very well.
in a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients and whisk until combined. stir in peas, onion and feta.

salted chocolate chip cookies

makes about 10 huge cookies

150g (5oz) unsalted butter, softened
250g (9oz) light brown sugar
1 egg
225g (8oz) plain (all-purpose flour)
225-285g (8-10oz) dark chocolate

1. Whizz butter and sugar in a food processor or stand mixer until light and creamy. Add egg and mix until well combined.

2. Add 3/4 teaspoon baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon bicarb soda to the flour and mix to combine.

3. Fold butter mixture into the flour until only just combined.

4. Chop chocolate into chunks and add to the dough. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes but no longer than 72 hours.

5. When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 180C (350F). Line 2 baking sheets or trays with baking paper.

6. Scoop 1/3cup balls of dough and place on the prepared trays. Allowing room for them to spread. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt flakes.

7. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until cookies are golden. The bottom tray may need a little longer. Cool on the tray.
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