Here’s an appealing alternative to the big roast bird that includes all of the flavour with little or no waste. For ease of entertaining, assemble ahead of time. Pop into the oven two hours before serving. It’s delicious with seasonal roasted vegetables.
Purchase a butterflied breast from your butcher. Cover with plastic wrap and pound to about 1/4 to 1/2 in (0.6 to 1.25 cm). If butterflied breast is unavailable, purchase a boneless breast. Using sharp chef’s knife and your fingers, remove skin from breast, reserving skin. Turn breast, outer side down and lay flat on cutting board. With knife parallel to board, slice sideways through thickest part of breast, but not all the way through, so you can open it like a book. Pound with mallet to flatten.
Substitute spinach or beetroot greens for chard. Add any type of soft cheese, such as cream cheese or goats’ cheese or feta, in place of ricotta.
Make-ahead tips
- Prepare chard and cheese filling. Refrigerate in tightly covered container overnight.
- In the morning, prepare turkey breast, stuff, and tie up. Place in baking dish and refrigerate. Roast in oven for an hour before guests arrive. Turkey breast can rest, covered loosely with foil, for up to 40 minutes before serving.
- Prepare sauce and keep warm in small gravy boat.
Chard and Ricotta Stuffed Turkey Breast
Ingredients
- 3 cups (750 mL) chopped Swiss chard, washed and spun dry
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) finely chopped red onion
- 1 large garlic clove, finely minced
- 1/3 cup (80 mL) drained ricotta or quark cheese
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) kosher salt, plus extra
- 1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) ground nutmeg
- Freshly ground black pepper, plus extra
- 1 1/2 to 2 lb (750 g to 1 kg) free range, organic, boneless turkey breast, butterflied, skin on (see Tip box)
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil or melted butter, plus extra if needed
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (250 mL) turkey or chicken stock
- Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Nutrition
Per serving:
- calories158
- protein21g
- fat6g
- saturated fat2g
- trans fat0g
- carbohydrates3g
- sugars1g
- fibre0g
- sodium151mg
Directions
01
For stuffing, blanch Swiss chard in large pot of boiling water for 2 minutes, or until wilted and soft. Drain well and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much liquid as possible using your hands. Then place in food processor fitted with metal blade.
02
Heat oil in skillet. Add onion and garlic and sauteu0301 over medium heat, stirring often, until soft and clear. Do not brown. Transfer to food processor with cooked chard. Set aside to cool, about 5 minutes. Add cheese, lemon, and seasonings to processor bowl. Pulse together until mixture is finely minced.
03
For turkey, preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). To stuff turkey, remove skin from turkey breast and set aside. Open up butterflied turkey breast, top-side down, on cutting board. Spread chard mixture evenly over flattened turkey breast leaving at least 1 1/2 in (4 cm) border around each edge. Roll up breast tightly and place seam-side down on cutting board. Take turkey skin and place overtop rolled breast. Smooth over breast to seal (it will not cover roll fully). Tie up with butcher string.
04
Place turkey roll in metal baking pan just large enough to hold it. Brush with 1 Tbsp (15 mL) oil or melted butter. Gently season with a little salt and pepper. Bake in 400 F (200 C) preheated oven for 20 minutes to seal in juices. Then reduce heat to 325 F (165 C) and roast until internal temperature on instant-read thermometer reads 165 F (75 C), about 40 minutes longer. Remove and transfer to platter, reserving pan juices. Cover stuffed turkey breast with sheet of foil to rest while preparing sauce.
05
For sauce, place metal baking pan on stovetop. Scrape turkey drippings to loosen. Sprinkle with flour, and over medium-low heat, whisk flour into pan juices till crumbly. If too dry, add splash of olive oil. When flour is browned, gradually whisk in stock. Continue whisking over medium heat until thickened. Whisk in Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper, to taste, if needed. Strain through fine-mesh sieve into serving container, such as a gravy boat.
06
To serve turkey, cut roll into 8 slices. Drizzle with a little sauce and serve with your choice of roasted vegetables.
Irene McGuinness is a writer, recipe developer, food stylist for numerous magazines and corporations, and alumna of the Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University
