Turkey Ballotine, Honey Roast Root Vegetables And Redcurrant Gravy | ExpatWomanFood.com
 
 

Posted on

15 December 2018

by

Liz Robb

Turkey Ballotine, Honey Roast Root Vegetables And Redcurrant Gravy

Ingredients

3 turkey breast steaks
200g minced turkey
1 onion
125g chestnut mushrooms
Half a bag of spinach
A large sprig of fresh sage
A little fresh thyme
Salt and black pepper
Olive oil
20g butter
500g small heritage carrots*
3-4 parsnips
4 teaspoons of runny honey
450ml of good chicken stock
1 tablespoon of cornflour
3-4 teaspoons of redcurrant jelly**
Servings
4
Person

Preparation

  • Slice almost through the turkey breasts horizontally, opening them out to make single flat pieces of meat. Place them between sheets of clingfilm and use a rolling pin to flatten them out, making them wider and thinner.
  • Overlap them on a sheet of clingfilm to make a long rectangle.
  • Use spinach leaves, overlapping, to make a layer covering the turkey almost to the edges.
  • Peel the onion, wipe the mushrooms and finely chop both. Saute the onion gently in a little olive oil for 2-3 minutes, add the mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes. Allow to cool for a minute or two.
  • Place the onion and mushroom with the minced turkey in a food processor with a small handful of chopped sage leaves and some chopped thyme leaves. Season with salt and black pepper and then briefly pulse a few times to make the stuffing.
  • Spoon the stuffing evenly along the centre of the turkey and spinach and roll the turkey around it, covering it completely. Cut into two ballatines and wrap each one very tightly in clingfilm, sealing the ends securely to prevent leaking.
  • Place the ballotines in the fridge to chill. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees, 180 degrees fan oven, and warm a little olive oil in a roasting tin.
  • Wash and trim the carrots, peel the parsnips and cut to a similar size to the small carrots. Cook in boiling water for just a couple of minutes, drain and toss in the olive oil. Drizzle with the honey, season and roast for 35-40 minutes,
  • Place the tightly wrapped ballotines in a large pan of just boiling water, and simmer gently for 20 minutes until cooked through. Unwrap them, reserving the juice,.
  • Heat 20g of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan. Fry the ballotines, turning several times, for about 10 minutes and then leave in a warm place to rest while you make the sauce.
  • Heat the chicken stock with the turkey juices until simmering. Make a paste with the cornflour and a little water and stir it into the sauce. Simmer and stir for 2-3 minutes then whisk in the redcurrant jelly and cook gently for 5 minutes.
  • Slice each ballotine thickly and serve 3 slices on a bed of mashed potato for each person, accompanied by a serving of honey roast vegetables and redcurrant sauce.
Cooks Note

Thin slices of turkey, rolled around a savoury turkey, mushroom and onion stuffing, flavoured with sage and thyme, sticky honey roast heritage carrots and parsnips and a redcurrant gravy all come together to make a truly delicious winter meal.

* I was lucky enough to find little Chanteray heritage carrots, but any small carrots will do instead. or just slice them to size.

**You could use cranberry sauce instead of redcurrant jelly

Usually the stuffing would be made with pork mince and the ballotine wrapped in bacon or pancetta, but this version is very tasty and lower in fat.

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