Over the last several weeks, more and more e-mails have arrived about our food challenge. Why does Roast Turkey pack a punch? Roast Turkey is a stand-alone dish and is ideally served with sides. Yet, it is sweet. And white.
Roast Turkey, which involves caramelizing the roast turkey, is a weighty dish. I’ve made it over and over and always come out lighter. The recipe I use here is adapted from Lynn Crawford’s restaurant column in Vancouver Life. The white flavor of the roast slowly caramelizes into a delicious sauce.
It’s Thanksgiving time again. We’ve finally learned that there are ways to be more sensible about what we eat. It’s also silly to focus on the minute changes in the size of a turkey. Cutting your turkey down to a smaller size won’t improve taste. And neither will stuffing the bird.
This recipe was as indulgent as my dreams of the holidays. It was served with crackers and lots of mashed potatoes and carrots. My husband thought it was perfect — despite, or perhaps because of, the amount of fattening stuff it contains. My daughter mused: “That’s a turkey! That’s full of meat.”
How often do you get a chance to do this? If you really want to indulge, try adding pepitas to your preparation. They are a nutty seed that you can grind yourself or buy pre-ground and grind in a spice grinder.
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Total time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 fennel bulb, finely chopped
- 4 large cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- 3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp ground cumin
- 1 ½ lb boneless turkey breast, skinned and crumbled
¼ cup dried pepitas
-
3 tbsp Marcona almonds, chopped
Directions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the onion, carrot, fennel, garlic, chopped parsley, and Parmesan. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt, ½ teaspoon of the pepper, and the cumin and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
- Add the turkey, let the turkey brown all over, then transfer to a baking dish. Add the pepitas and almonds. Let the turkey cool for 10 minutes.
- Add the rest of the oil to the skillet and add the almonds and pepitas. Cook for a minute. Top the turkey with the pepitas and almonds, then drizzle the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the top. Sprinkle with the parsley and bake at 425 degrees for 1 hour, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
- Note: You can use your favorite giblet gravy or let your loved ones do it.
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