Turkey Breast Roulade With Garlic and Rosemary

Turkey Breast Roulade With Garlic and Rosemary

Photo Credit: Christopher Simpson, The New York Times, 2020.

 
Lately, most home cooks have been  looking for alternatives to  cooking whole turkey, for the upcoming holidays, especially in the middle of the pandemic. This recipe adapted from Ina Garten provides an elegant presentation of a turkey roulade without having to deal with the left over meat in cooking a traditional turkey.  The recipe included fennel seeds, and  if you don’t like  the taste of fennel seeds,  you can surely leave them out. The garlic, sage and rosemary  that are also used in this recipe will give this roast the flavors of an Italian porchetta, and it will still be fragrant, juicy and delicious without them.

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten
New York Times, 2020

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons good-quality olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
¾ teaspoon whole fennel seeds
6 garlic cloves, minced  
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves, plus 4 whole sage leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 whole butterflied boneless, skin-on turkey breast (about 4 to 5 pounds)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup cold unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
1 cup dry white wine, such as Chablis (See Cook’s Notes)

Directions:
The day before,  set the turkey breast on a cutting board, skin side down.  Using a meat mallet, pound out the turkey to an even thickness of about 1 inch, and salt generously (dry brine). Place on a plate , cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator over night.

The following day,  heat the oven to 350° F.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and fennel seeds and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the onion is tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Off the heat, stir in the chopped sage and the rosemary; set aside to cool.

Before filling, remove the skin in one piece and set aside. Sprinkle the turkey with  1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Once the onion mixture has cooled, spread it evenly on the meat. Grate the butter and sprinkle it on top.   Arrange the  prosciutto on top, to totally cover the filling and meat.

Starting at one long end of the turkey breast, roll the meat up jelly-roll style to make a compact cylindrical roulade, ending with the seam side down. Arrange the skin over the turkey roulade. This way it’s all crispy skin on the outside and no soft flabby skin rolled up inside. Tie the roulade tightly with kitchen twine at 2 to 2 1/2-inch intervals to ensure that it will roast evenly. Slip the whole sage leaves under the twine down the center of the roulade.

Place the roulade, seam side down, in a roasting pan and pat the skin dry with paper towels. Brush the skin with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Pour the wine and 1 cup water into the roasting pan, surrounding the turkey with the liquids without pouring them directly over the roulade. Roast for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, until the skin is golden brown and the internal temperature is 150 °F.

Remove from the oven, cover the turkey with foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Remove the string, slice the roulade crosswise in 1/2-inch-thick slices, and serve warm with the pan juices.

Cook’s Notes:
If you prefer, you can substitute 1 ¼ cups of chicken broth for the wine.

Also note that you can add a handful of  fresh spinach to the filling, which  will  enhance the flavor profile of this dish.

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Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Thanksgiving is a national holiday in the United States, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. It originated as a harvest festival. Thanksgiving has been celebrated nationally on and off since 1789, with a proclamation by George Washington after a request by Congress.Thomas Jefferson chose not to observe the holiday, and its celebration was intermittent until the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, when Thanksgiving became a federal holiday in 1863, during the American Civil War. Lincoln proclaimed a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens,” to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November. Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the date was changed between 1939 and 1941 amid significant controversy. From 1942 onwards, Thanksgiving has been proclaimed by Congress as being on the fourth Thursday in November. Thanksgiving is regarded as being the beginning of the fall–winter holiday season, along with Christmas and the New Year, in American culture.

The event that Americans commonly call the “First Thanksgiving” was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in October 1621.Very little is known about the 1621 event in Plymouth. This feast lasted three days, and—as accounted by attendees Edward Winslow and William Bradford—it was attended by 90 Native Americans and 53 English Colonists.

 The only eyewitness account of the  event are reprinted below:

“And God be praised we had a good increase… Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.”

 Edward Winslow, Mourt’s Relation: D.B. Heath, ed. Applewood Books. Cambridge, 1986. p 82

“They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which is place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides, they had about a peck a meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to that proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned but true reports.

William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation: S.E. Morison, ed. Knopf. N.Y., 1952. p 90

The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating “thanksgivings”—days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought.

These side dishes  served alongside a beautifully roasted turkey reflects a Colonial-inspired Thanksgiving menu that weaves together indigenous and Old World ingredients and traditions into a uniquely American feast.

SAGE AND HONEY SKILLET CORNBREAD

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With the help of Squanto and Wampanoag tribe, corn was one of the first crops the settlers learned how to grow and soon cornmeal became a diet staple and was used for making johnnycakes, porridges, and more. The difficulty of growing wheat in the northern colonies meant that other breads were a rare luxury, but there was always cornbread.

Serves 8

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups coarse yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage leaves
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
1/4 cup whole milk
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup honey

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425º F. Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet in oven until hot, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, sage, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Melt 1 stick butter, and whisk together with milk, buttermilk, eggs, and honey. Whisk milk mixture into cornmeal mixture until just combined.

Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Remove skillet from oven, add remaining tablespoon butter, and swirl to coat. Pour in batter, and bake until cornbread is golden, 20 to 23 minutes. Let cool at least 30 minutes before cutting into wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

BAKED PUMPKIN

Native to North America, pumpkins are one of the oldest domesticated plants, having been used as early as 7,500 to 5,000 BC. As a cultivar of a squash plant, pumpkins have a round, smooth, slightly ribbed skin, and most often appear deep yellow to orange in coloration. The original pumpkins were small and hard with a bitter flavor. Rather than using their nutritional and readily available seeds, pre-Columbian indigenous tribes along the East Coast and the Mid-Atlantic grew pumpkins for their flesh. Because of their solid, thick flesh, pumpkins served as an ideal food source for storing during cold weather and in times of scarcity. Indigenous cooks would often roast them whole in the ashes of a smoldering fire and then crack the pumpkin open to scoop out the pulp from the shells, adding honey or maple syrup and cooked again in the fire in a clay vessel. One of the first American pumpkin recipes was included in John Josselyn’s “New-England’s Rarities Discovered”, published in the early 1670’s. The recipe was for a side dish made from diced ripe pumpkin that had been cooked down in a pot over the course of a day. Once the pumpkin was cooked, butter and spices were added, much like the recipes for mashed squash or sweet potatoes seen today.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 small whole pumpkin, 6 to 8 pounds
1/4 cup apple cider
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup melted butter

Directions:
Preheat the oven to at 350 ° F.

Wash the pumpkin, removing any soil; dry with paper towels

Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet and place the entire pumpkin in the oven. Bake for about 2 hours. Remove the pumpkin from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Using a chef’s knife, cut the baked pumpkin in half and scoop out the pulp and seeds from inside; remove the seeds and save for another used if desired. Spread the pulp into am 8 x 8- inch casserole dish.

Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over the pumpkin. Place the casserole in the oven and bake for another 35 minutes. Serve warm.

ROASTED DELICATA SQUASHES AND LADY APPLES

delicata squash lady apples

Photo Credit:  Anna Williams, 2012.

In Colonial America, English settlers were introduced to the pumpkin by Native American tribes. For the most part,  “pumpkin” (actually, “pompion” or “pompkin”) was the catch-all word for squashes of all sorts. In this sweet and savory side dish, the “pompions” are in the form of pretty Delicata squashes. The savory kick comes from slab bacon, an acknowledgement to the fact that pigs  were introduced by the Spanish conquistadors, thrived in the New World and pork was essential component of  the Colonists’ diets.

Serves 8

Ingredients:
2 delicata squashes (1 1/2 pounds total), cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices,
   seeds removed
10 lady apples (1 1/2 pounds), cut in half
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons light-brown sugar
6 ounces slab bacon, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices, then cut crosswise into
   lardons (1/2 inch wide)
Coarse salt and freshly ground black  pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 ºF. Toss together squashes, apples, oil, sugar, bacon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; season with pepper. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet, and roast until golden on bottom, about 50 minutes. Flip squashes and apples over, and roast until tender, about 5 minutes more. Sprinkle thyme over mixture, and serve immediately.

CRANBERRY RELISH WITH PEARL ONIONS

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Native Americans had been growing and eating cranberries long before the Pilgrims arrived, but the first recorded instance of cooking them into a sweetened sauce to serve with meat shows up in the 1670s.

Yields  2 1/4 cups

Ingredients:
21 white pearl onions
12 ounces fresh cranberries
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/8 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook onions 2 minutes, then transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain. Peel onions, and cut in half. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Cover, and cook over medium-low heat until cranberries burst and onions are tender, about 40 minutes.

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Mr. Crumb Stuffing Waffles with Fried Eggs

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Photo Credit: Umami Girl, 2019.

 

 

For a change of pace this St. Patrick’s Day,  take a chance and try these savory waffles with cheddar made with Mr. Crumb Sage and Onion Stuffing™ . This dish works equally well for breakfast, brunch or dinner. Top with a fried egg and a dollop of sour cream and serve with a side of bacon and grilled tomatoes for a truly excellent meal.

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Adapted from
Mr. Crumb
February, 2019

Serves 6

Ingredients:
For the waffles:
Two  8-ounce (225g)  tubs of Mr. Crumb Sage and Onion Stuffing™
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 ounces (50g) Kerry Gold Dubliner Irish Cheddar Cheese™
1 tablespoon  fresh chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
Vegetable cooking spray

For the Eggs:
Large knob of butter
6 large eggs
Snipped fresh chives, for garnish

For Serving:
Cooked bacon, fried mushrooms, grilled tomatoes or sautéed spinach

 

Directions:
Preheat a waffle iron to a medium setting.

Place the stuffing in a large bowl, gently breaking up any large lumps. Add the egg and stir to combine, making sure that all of the stuffing is evenly moistened.

Stir in the cheese and add parsley, thyme and  salt and pepper to taste.

Divide the stuffing mix into six equal portions and shape each one into a patty about 1-inch thick.

Using vegetable spray, lightly grease the waffle iron. Add the patty to the waffle iron and cook for 2-3 minutes until crisp and golden. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining patties.

Heat a large cast iron skillet on medium high heat. Add the butter. When the butter has melted and the skillet is hot, fry the eggs until cooked to your liking.

To serve, place a waffled on a plate and top with an egg and season with salt and black pepper. Serve with crispy bacon, fried mushrooms grilled tomatoes or sautéed spinach, if desired.

Enjoy!

 

Cook’s Notes:
Mr. Crumb Gourmet Stuffing is a product of Ireland and is cooked by hand in small batches by sautéing onions, herbs and spices in pure Irish Butter (made with milk from grass fed cows) before mixing in fresh breadcrumb. The product is available in the United States at Safeway and Albertson Supermarkets.