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.
READ THIS NEXT
SEE MORE »
Oat Sweet Potato Chili
If breakfast oatmeal is your jam, you’ll happily spoon up this oat-infused hearty chili. It comes together quickly enough to add to your weeknight dinner routine, but soaking the steel-cut oats ahead of time is key to having them cook more efficiently. Toppings run the gamut of avocado, sour cream, broken tortilla chips, cilantro, or grated cheddar. Hot stuff Chili powders can range greatly in their heat levels. So, it’s important to know the type you’re working with to gauge how much of a fiery kick it will add to a dish.
Purple Cabbage and Apple Soup
This vibrant soup is a soul-soothing hug in a bowl. Blue and purple fruits and vegetables contain powerful antioxidants called anthocyanins that promote health and proper brain function. Apple swap Try swapping out the apples in this recipe for pears. Just like the apples, the subtle sweetness of pears helps balance out the earthiness of the cabbage.
Herb and Greens Frittata
Deep green fruits and vegetables are high on the list of health-promoting foods. Green foods have been shown to contain high amounts of antioxidants and nutrients that promote good cardiovascular health and can inhibit certain carcinogens. Serve this frittata alongside a leafy green salad for an unbeatable green culinary experience. Versatile leftovers Any leftover frittata makes a wonderful filling for a sandwich along with other thinly sliced vegetables you have on hand and a smear of hummus.
Caramelized Fennel and Yogurt Dip
This creamy dip will be your go-to for dunking vegetables or for spooning over roast chicken or root vegetables as a sauce. Compounds found in fennel have been shown to stimulate the production of T-cells in our body, which, in turn, may help improve our immune response to infections. If white is right If you would like to stay on the white theme, try serving this dip with an array of white vegetables such as endive leaves, jicama sticks, daikon rounds, steamed nugget potatoes, and cauliflower florets.