Stuffed Turkey Roulade

Thanksgiving, along with Christmas and Mother's Day, is definitely one of my favorite holidays of the year . I love every occasion when our extended family can get together and celebrate a joyous holiday, each other and Life! I do not ever mind cooking for the Thanksgiving gathering and in fact, prefer to do that and cherish the times when it happens to be my turn.

Invariably I try to come up with an interesting turkey recipe to lavish on my family and this time I've been working on my version of the Stuffed Turkey Roulade.  Whenever I develop a new recipe, I always keep in mind the final presentation. I firmly believe that a visually impactful dish truly enhances the dining experience and this Roulade is no exception. In structuring this dish I utilized a combination of traditional ingredients, (like the turkey) with perhaps not so traditional stuffing and used figs to accentuate the succulent flavors of the turkey meat. It is really not difficult to make, just follow the easy directions and you can always improvise!

Enjoy and let me know what your guests think about this Roulade!

Ingredients: turkey breasts, chorizo, pancetta, shallot, celery, carrot, garlic, dill, rosemary, baguette, eggs, dry cherries, butter, harissa sauce, cumin, paprika, salt and olive oil.

Ask your butcher to cut out both sides of the breast, leaving the bone on the carcass  and the skin intact.

Place turkey breasts on a cutting board skin side down, cover with a plastic wrap.

And pound gently with a meat mallet on the thickest part of both breasts until unified in thickness, about ½".

Leave the breasts on the cutting board.

Season generously with salt and cover again with the same plastic. Set aside while you prepare the stuffing.

Stale baguette breadcrumbs: as baguette hardens over the course of few days, it makes an ideal ingredient for the stuffing in this recipe. Dice the baguette roughly and place it in the food processor. Pulse until coarse breadcrumbs form.

Prep ingredients for the stuffing: Dice shallot finely.

Dice carrot finely.

Dice celery finely.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Add a dash of oil and sausage (sans casing), stirring and breaking up into small pieces with a spoon, until browned, about 5–7 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a large bowl, leaving drippings behind. Then add pancetta and cook until crispy, another 5 minutes. Transfer into the bowl.

Return skillet to medium heat, add butter, let it melt and then add shallot, cook for 3 minutes or until translucent.

Add harissa sauce (or sriracha) and mix it with the shallot.

Then add diced carrot and celery.

Season with salt, cumin and paprika and cook for 8-10 minutes, until softened, stirring often.

In the last minute of cooking, add garlic and stir with the vegetables, cook for few minutes, then turn off the heat.

Transfer vegetable mixture to the meat. Add chopped dill.

Egg, breadcrumbs.

Then add cherries that were presoaked in red wine or hot water for 30 minutes, drained. If you can't find cherries, dry cranberries or even raisins can work instead.

Mix everything gently to combine.

Spread the stuffing with a spatula, leaving a 1" border.

Roll the meat into a log lengthwise, completely enclosing the stuffing.

When done rolling use both hands to tuck in the ends and make the log tighter.

Take a long piece of kitchen twine and use it to secure the roulade beginning at the thickest end by forming  a loop and passing the longer piece through it. Spread your fingers to enlarge the loop and continue to pass it through formulating loops with 1 1/2" intervals until you reach the opposite end. Tie each loop snuggly.

Flip the roulade and pass the remaining twine trough the loops twisting it around each one.

When done, flip it again and tie the twine to the very first loop, where you started. Now the roulade is securely trussed! This is my preferred method but of course, you can use what ever way that works for you.

Tuck in rosemary sprig on top. Drizzle roulade with oil and season with salt all over. Preheat oven to 375F. Drizzle roasting dish with oil, place stuffed turkey breast in the middle. Bake for 45 minutes or until meat thermometer registers 165F.

Meanwhile, caramelize the figs: Heat a large cast-iron or non-stick skillet over medium-high. Add butter and let it melt, then add maple syrup and figs cut side down, pan sear for about 5 minutes or until the bottom is caramelized nicely.

Transfer roulade to a carving board, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes.

To serve, remove the twine and cut the turkey into ½" slices. Serve immediately with juice drippings from the roasting dish or store-bought gravy and figs.

 

 

 

Bon Appétit!

Svitlana