Roast Turkey Breast with Mustard & Herbs

I've already showed you how I roast a whole turkey, but here's a roasted boneless turkey breast with vegetables and sauce that tastes delicious and also provides plenty of leftovers.  

The nice thing about this dish is you cook the beans in the pan sauce as the turkey rests so it's only a one- or two- pan meal.

Boneless turkey breast isn't cheap but it is a nice treat.  This was a 3 pound boneless breast with skin.  

Here's what else you need: Dijon mustard, honey, oil, sage, thyme, rosemary and dill.  

In a small food processor, chop the herbs and add 1 tbsp each mustard, honey and oil. 

Process into a loose paste.

Sprinkle the turkey breast with salt and pepper and then spread the mustard herb mixture over the breast.

Don't forget to rub the mixture under the skin as well.  Then roast in a 425 degree oven for about an hour.

Meanwhile, cut potatoes into chunks.  Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Once the turkey has roasted for an hour, add the potatoes to the oven on their separate tray.

After another half an hour, when the turkey is at 165 degrees internally, remove it from the oven and cover with foil to rest.  Flip the potatoes and put them back in the oven.

Add about a cup of chicken stock to the pan juices and add the yellow (or green) beans.  Place them in the oven to roast for about 15 minutes while the turkey rests.  

Once the turkey has rested, slice thinly.

Remove the beans and potatoes from the oven.

Place the sliced turkey, beans and potatoes on the plate.

Whisk a tablespoon of mustard into the pan juices.

And pour the sauce over the turkey.  The mustard and herbs are a great match for the turkey.

This is a delicious Sunday meal that gives you plenty of leftovers for sandwiches or salads for lunch during the week.  I'll have another use for leftover turkey coming soon.  

Curried Quinoa Mango Salad

This salad has been a staple in our house for years. My husband loves it. We generally have it as a side dish with grilled chicken or pork, but it is excellent as leftovers for lunch the next day. 

I can't believe I haven't written about this salad before!  Quinoa is so good for you.  It is a grain that's full of protein. I also like the nutty flavour and slightly crunchy texture.  It comes in red, white, and rarer varieties like black.  I like to use a combination of the red and white for a nice colour contrast.  I buy it at Bulk Barn but you can get it at any supermarket.  I also like to buy grain and lentil mixes that contain quinoa.  If you're looking for it, it's pronounced KEEN-wah.

This is another big winner from Epicurious.  You'll need 1 cup of quinoa (I was a little short so just made it with 2/3 of a cup and it still worked out fine). Plus white wine vinegar, mango chutney, curry powder, dry mustard, a fresh mango, cucumber and salad greens (spinach, arugula or spring mix is great).

You can rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer.  I sometimes skip this step and don't find it makes much difference.  Add the grains to boiling water and simmer about 12 minutes, then drain and cool.

While the quinoa is cooking, make the dressing.  I like to double the recipe so there's lots of dressing, plus extra for leftovers.  

Take 2 tablespoons mango chutney (chopped up if chunky), 3 teaspoons curry powder and 1/2 a teaspoon dry mustard.

Mix in 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar and 1/2 cup olive or canola oil.  That's it!

Next, chop an English cucumber.

And some green onions.

Then chop the mango.

And add it to the cucumber and onions.

Add the quinoa.

And mix in half the dressing.

And toss to combine.

To serve, pile some salad greens on a plate. This is baby romaine but you can use spinach or any green. 

Top with the quinoa vegetable mixture.

Then drizzle with a little more dressing.

This salad can be a full meal or a hearty side dish. The slightly spicy curry and chutney with the sweet mango and fresh cucumber is a great combination.  Easy, healthy and highly recommended.

Short & Sweet Sunday - Braised Baby Squash

I love baby vegetables. So cute. 

I found these baby squash at the market and decided to braise them with our blueberry duck.  

I melted some butter in a pan.

Halved the larger squash and kept the little ones whole and added them to the hot butter with some minced garlic.  I tossed them around, then added some chicken stock to the pan, partially covered and braised them about 10 minutes until tender.

I served them with the blueberry duck for a nice, fresh, adorable side dish.

Duck Breast with Blueberry Sauce

My husband loves duck. It is his absolute favourite protein.  He also loves blueberries. They are his favourite fruit.  So for a special treat, with blueberries in season, I looked for a way to combine those flavours.  This recipe was a hit!

You'll need 1/4 cup sugar, 2 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, 1 cup mixed dried fruit and 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger.

The recipe didn't specify what kind of dried fruit. You could use apricots, cherries or even dried blueberries if you can get them. I used what I had - dates, raisins and dried cranberries.

You need to make the sauce first because it takes a while and needs to sit to meld the flavours. This is an unusual process that involves making a caramel.  Stir sugar with 2 tbsp water over low heat until sugar dissolves.

Then increase heat and boil without stirring for 8 minutes until you see a deep amber colour.

You can swirl the pan and brush down the sides with a wet pastry brush if you need to.

Add balsamic vinegar to the hot sugar, then add chicken broth and stir to combine and simmer for 20 minutes until reduced to about 1 cup.  I found the caramel started sticking to the bottom at this point and I scraped it with a whisk to blend it together and re-melt the sugar.

Once the sauce is reduced, remove from heat. Add the fresh blueberries, ginger and chopped dried fruit. Set aside to cool and steep for 30 minutes.  

Meanwhile, prepare the duck breasts.  Score the skin with a sharp knife.  You want to cut only the skin, not the meat. This helps the fat render out of the breast while cooking.

Coarsely grind 4 teaspoons peppercorns.  This is a lot of pepper but it'll create a lovely crust. 

Sprinkle with salt then cover the skin side of the duck generously with the cracked peppercorns.  This is not enough.

That's better.

Heat a dry, heavy metal pan over medium high heat.  Not a non-stick pan.

Add the duck, skin side down.  Cook 10 to 15 minutes until skin is golden and crisp.

Flip the duck over and cook another 10 minutes until done.  See all the fat in the pan from the skin?  It's a good idea to have the exhaust fan on while cooking the duck. It'll get a little smokey.  

Once done, remove from pan and rest about 10 minutes, covered with foil.

While it is resting, rewarm the sauce.  I also used an immersion blender to blend it a bit so it would be a little smoother.  Season it with salt and pepper.  

Slice the duck breasts.  You want it to be medium rare to medium.

Drizzle the sauce over the duck.  I served this with a wild rice blend and braised baby squash.  

For an extremely happy husband, you can also serve with blueberry craft beer.

The sauce was a delicious compliment to the duck.  This meal takes a little effort but it's not too hard to make and the results are worth it.