Turkey Breast with Dried Apricots and Pancetta, by Tessa Kiros, “Apples for Jam”
I just got Tessa Kiros’ cookbook last week, and so far, it has been a fantastic read. The recipes are organized by color, which I find hilarious. This recipe can be found in the “orange” chapter. Ms. Kiros is half Greek, half Finnish, married an Italian and lives in Tuscany, making her food memories quite interesting. I like the rustic Tuscan spin on her recipes, because rustic food is easy to serve. By design, it’s supposed to look messy, and hey…I can do messy. That being said, this roll cuts into very elegant slices, and next to roasted asparagus, made for a dinner worthy of the tall candlesticks I put on the table. It was worth the time it took to make, I promise. The girls ate their dinners in 5 minutes flat, every last bite…an absolute first for our house. Greg and I were in such shock that we took them out for ice cream, our first sugar break from our sugar break.
1.25 lbs turkey breast in one slice, pounded less than 1/2″ thick (go to Kincaids and they will do this for you)…you could also use 2 chicken breasts and make 2 small bundles
9 dried apricots
9 thin slices of unsmoked pancetta (easiest to find in Meijer’s fresh deli section, next to the prosciutto)
1 egg
freshly ground salt and black pepper
2.5 tablespoons all purpose flour (I used a bit more)
2.5 tablespoons polenta (I used a bit more…I wouldn’t substitute for cornmeal on this recipe)
5 tablespoons olive oil
About 15 large shallots, peeled and quartered lengthwise (I found this to be prohibitively expensive, so I peeled 15 cippoline onions, and I was pleased with the flavor)
4 tablespoons white wine (I substitute apple juice because I always have that in the house)
4 tablespoons water
Heat the oven to 350, and lay the turkey breast flat on a board. Roll up each apricot in a slice of pancetta, and line them up on the long side of the turkey breast. Roll up the turkey and apricot bundles and secure the seam with metal skewers or toothpicks.
Break the egg into a large flat dish and whip the egg and salt and pepper together. Soak the turkey roll for 5 minutes, turning it over so it is well coated. Hold it up to allow excess egg to drip off, and then pat flour all over it. Dip it again in the egg, and then pat the polenta all over it, coating everywhere (I used by breading trays and rolled it…much easier).
Heat half the oil in a non-stick skillet (this part is pretty important…non-stick), and fry the turkey roll in medium heat to seal the crumbs. Turn over gently, but only when the polenta crust is lightly golden and has set, or it will stick to the pan and peel off.
Put the shallots in a roasting pan and drizzle the wine and remaining oil over them. Toss to coat. Put the turkey on top and bake for 40-50 minutes, turning the turkey once when it is golden. Stir the shallots once as well. Once the wine has almost evaporated, add the water and finish cooking. Serve in slices with the juices spooned over the top and the shallots on the side (I left the onions off the plate…I’m not a big fan of big chunks of onion just sitting on my plate).
I cut the girls’ into turkey chunks, and they looked like McNuggets. I separated their pancetta and apricot bundles onto the side, which they inhaled before we got through prayers. I always chunk up their asparagus, and if it’s roasted in a little olive oil with freshly ground salt and pepper, they’ll eat it all.