DESCRIPTION
Cooking a turkey breast for Thanksgiving is a great option if you’re having about 6 people over. For this recipe, the turkey breast is stuffed with rosemary, cranberries, and pine nuts and is roasted with root vegetables.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 and ½ cups day-old bread cubes (about 5 slices)
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
- 2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp. dried)
- Salt
- Coarse black pepper
- ½ cup to 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- Butcher’s twine
- 3 lb. boneless skinless turkey breast, butterflied
- 4 carrots, peeled
- 2 medium heads fennel, trimmed and cored
- 2 lbs. potatoes, in 1-inch cubes
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Into a large bowl put the bread cubes, dried cranberries, pine nuts, rosemary, 1 teaspoon of coarse black pepper, and ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Add ½ cup of the chicken broth. Mix well. If the bread isn’t damp add up to ½ cup more broth (how much you add depends on the type of bread and how dry it was to start with).
- Cut five (18-inch) pieces of butcher’s twine and arrange them parallel to each other on a work surface.
- Season the turkey breast lightly on both sides with salt and pepper and then place it nicest-side-down across the pieces of twine.
- Arrange the bread stuffing along the middle of the turkey breast, leaving an inch at the edges.
- Wrap the turkey around the stuffing and secure in five places with the twine. Place in a large roasting pan.
- Slice the carrots and fennel ¼ inch thick. Toss them in a large bowl with the potatoes, olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of coarse black pepper.
- Arrange around the turkey in the roasting pan.
- Roast for 30 minutes. Gently stir the vegetables.
- Continue to cook until the roast is 160°F in the center, 20-30 more minutes. Transfer turkey to a rimmed plate to catch any juices while it rests.
- Return vegetables to the oven to continue to cook for 10 more minutes. If you’d like, use a broiler so that the vegetables develop some brown color, but watch them carefully so they don’t burn.
- Cut the 5 pieces of butcher’s twine and remove them from around the turkey breast. Discard.
- Slice the turkey into 12 slices. Using an electric carving knife is the easiest way to make nice slices that hold together well.
- Serve with the roasted vegetables.