One 5-pound fresh, whole turkey breast with skin; have your butcher remove the bones (save them for stock) and butterfly the breast, leaving it whole
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter + 2 Tablespoons, melted or use olive oil
2 cups diced onions
2 stalks diced celery
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 Tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 cups wild rice blend, such as Lundberg or Whole Foods
1 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
4 ¼ cups chicken or turkey stock, preferably homemade, DIVIDED
⅔ cup chopped pecans, toasted
½ cup dried cranberries (optional)
Instructions
When you get the turkey home from the market, lay the breast skin side down and if one end is significantly thicker than the other, place it between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound it to the same thickness. Season the breast with a sprinkling of sea salt. Rewrap and refrigerate it until you are ready to prepare it.
One hour before roasting, remove turkey from refrigerator and leave on countertop.
To make the filling, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (or oil) in a heavy medium saucepan. Add onions, and celery and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and sauté another 2 minutes.
Add the herbs and sauté a few minutes more.
Add the rice, salt, pepper and 3 ¾ cups stock. Bring to a boil, cover, lower to a simmer and cook according to the package instructions. When rice is tender and liquid absorbed, turn heat off and fold in pecans and (optional) cranberries. Let sit covered for 10 minutes (longer is fine, too.)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Place the turkey breast skin side down on a cutting board or countertop. Season with salt if you haven’t already done so, and some black pepper. Spoon half the filling lengthwise over the turkey breast up to one half inch from the edges. Roll the turkey breast and tie string around the roll in three places. Transfer remaining filling to a small ovenproof casserole and set aside.
Brush the turkey with 2 Tablespoons melted butter or olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Place directly in a roasting pan or on a rack within a pan. Roast uncovered, for 1 hour. Add ½ cup stock to pan, cover breast with parchment, then foil, and roast one more hour. Bake the remaining rice in a casserole during the last 30 minutes of the turkey’s roasting time.
Remove from the oven, put turkey roll on a platter or cutting board and let rest covered for 20-30 minutes. Remove string and cut turkey into ¼-inch slices. To serve, spoon the rice from the casserole onto a serving platter. Arrange turkey slices on top. Drizzle with the pan juices.
Notes
You can also add to Step 3: ½ pound mushrooms, such as shiitake (stems discarded) or cremini, wiped clean and chopped. You can use white wine in Step 8 instead of stock. Or use ¼ cup wine and ¼ cup stock.
Recipe by Pamela Salzman at https://pamelasalzman.com/turkey-roulade/