Ever wondered what to do with turkey breasts? This easy recipe not only looks good it will change how you think about turkey!!!..You can make it as healthy as you want by substituting olive oil for the butter and using extra low fat cheeses.
Preparation: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 25 mins
Serves 2
Enjoy!
• 2 turkey breasts
• 2 shallots finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 4 teaspoons butter
• 160g Arborio Rice (risotto rice)
• Handful of basil leaves, torn
• 1 glass dry white wine
• 500g vegetable stock
• 12 thin slices of pancetta
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach
• 150g cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Salt & Ground Black Pepper
• Cling Film
1. Heat oven to 200 deg C
2. Lay a sheet of cling film out on a flat surface
3. Lay out the turkey breasts on the cling film and then cover with another piece
4. Using a rolling pin or something else heavy to flatten the breasts until ¼ “ thick.
5. In a small frying pan gently fry half the shallots with half the garlic
6. When softened add the spinach and cook down until wilted
7. In a bowl combine the soft cheese, lemon zest and season with salt and pepper
8. Add the wilted spinach mixture and stir
9. Lay out 6 slices of the pancetta next to each other on some cling film
10. Lay a turkey breast out, one side level with edges of pancetta, season with black pepper & salt
11. Cover with half of the spinach mixture
12. Roll the turkey breast until you have a log shape
13. Repeat for second breast
14. In a frying pan brown the rolls on all sides
15. Place on a greased baking sheet in the oven for 20mins
16. Whilst turkey cooks make the risotto
17. Heat the stock
18. Heat the remaining shallots and garlic in a frying pan in 1 teaspoon of butter. When softened add the rice and cook for a couple of minutes.
19. Add the wine and keep stirring until wine has evaporated
20. Add a ladle of stock and stir and cook until evaporated – continue process until rice has doubled in size and is slighty hard in the middle
21. Add basil, parmesan and rest of butter
22. Season
23. Serve sliced turkey rolls on the rice
My husbands favourite trick is to mark the recipes he would love to eat in each of the celebrity chef cookbooks with his initials…having made one, a special meat pasta, I was really disappointed with the taste or lack of it and the next night presented these meatballs…his initials have been crossed out on that page now!!! The rosemary gives the sauce a really fresh fragrant taste and the meatballs have that lovely background from the Italian sausage.
For 4 people
Ingredients
Enough pasta (we use spaghetti or fettucine) for 4 people (depends how big your appetites are!!!)
For the meatballs
- 1/2lb minced sirloin
- ¼ lb hot Italian bulk sausage
- ¼ lb mild Italian bulk sausage
- Buy sausages and split skins if you can’t get bulk
- Zest of one lemon
- 2 tablespoons basil leaves chopped
- 1 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- ½ large red onion finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 5 tablespoon All purpose Flour
- 1 egg
For the sauce
- ½ large red onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 carrot finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped basil
- 1 16oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 large fresh tomatoes skinned and chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
- ½ cup red wine
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon Steak Sauce (I use A1)
1. Combine all but 4 tablespoons of the flour and the oil for the meatballs in a large bowl. Use your hands to combine all the ingredients.
2. From the mixture take small sections and use remaining flour to help shape into meatballs. Set aside until all meatball formed.
3. Heat the Olive Oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Gently fry the meatballs until gently browned on both sides..you don’t need to fully cook they will finish in the sauce.
4. Reserve the meatballs to one side once browned.
5. In the same pan start the sauce. Add the oil and when hot add onion, carrot and celery and cook for about 5 mins (until carrot is soft).
6. Add the garlic, fresh tomatoes. Cook down for a few minutes until the tomatoes have broken down.
7. Add the crushed tomatoes, dried herbs, ½ rosemary, basil, red wine and steak sauce.
8. Turn heat down to low, cover and cook for about 20 mins.
9. Add back meatballs and any juices, cover each one with sauce and cook for another 20 mins
10. Add the heavy cream and reserved rosemary and cook for 5 mins. Cover and turn off heat
11. Cook the Spaghetti to taste ( I like al dente ) and drain
12. Take a few spoons of the sauce and mix through the cooked spaghetti. Turn onto serving platter. Cover with the rest of the meatballs and sauce and serve.
If you are really hungry serve with my Garlic, Garlic, Garlic Bread!
Enjoy!
