Almost 10 years ago the family went to Italy. We spent two weeks in Tuscany, what a paradise! We completely fell in love with the place and our dream is at some point live there. And I am so excited because this summer we are going back! We can’t wait and I am already looking for food markets, restaurants and what ever I can find to make the trip even more amazing.
One day when my mind drifted to the time we spent in Tuscany I decided to bring some Italian flavor to the turkey breast I had sitting in the fridge. This is not your typical turkey dish, miles away from the classic with stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberries and all of that. This is more simple than it looks like and tastes delicious.
1 turkey breast, mine was 1,1 kg
150 gr cream cheese
4 sundried tomatoes, chopped
3 slices of grilled pepper from a jar, chopped
small handful fresh basil, roughly chopped
salt and pepper
parma ham to wrap the meat, I used 10 slices
Preheat oven to 180°. Mix together cream cheese, sundried tomatoes, peppers and basil. Make a “pocket” in the turkey breast and fill it with the cheese mixture. Season well and wrap in the ham as well as you can making sure it covers all the meat. Put in the oven, it needs 1 hour for every kg. For the first 40 minutes I had the meat covered with a lid but the rest of the cooking time I removed the lid to crisp up the ham.
Sauce
1/2 red onion
few mushrooms
500 ml cream (I always use double cream)
1 cube chicken stock
small handful flat leaf parsley
all the filling and juice that comes off the turkey
oil or butter for frying
Chop the onion and mushrooms into thin slices. Heat some oil or butter in a pan and fry the onion and mushrooms on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Pour over the cream and throw in the stock cube. Let this simmer on a low heat for 10-15 minutes. Once you remove the turkey pour in all the juices and the filling that has leaked out. Season to taste and stir in the chopped parsley.
Crushed potatoes
Potatoes
salt
olive oil or rapeseed oil
Boil the potatoes. Remove from the water and put in a roasting tray. Crush them wit a fork and drizzle with oil and season with salt. Put them on the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden and crispy on the edges. I find it best to be at the top of the oven.
With this rich dish it is essential to have something a little lighter and fresher. A nice salad, steamed veggies or something like that works a treat. I threw some tomatoes and avocado in a bowl, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and that’s it, quick and easy.