Give your festive roast an Italian twist with Mario Matassa’s recipe for rolled turkey breast with a hazelnut and raisin stuffing…
Words, recipe and photo © Mario Matassa
Christmas would not be the same without turkey, in some form.
Here in Italy, turkey has never achieved the status it has at Christmas as in the UK or the US.
However, given the increased interest in international cuisines, driven by travel, the internet, myself and celebrity chef shows, most supermarkets now reserve a place for them over the holidays.
The stuffing here has an Italian twist, with the addition of parmesan, nuts and raisins.
It would work equally well with fresh or dried cranberries if you want to keep things more traditional, and if you can find them. That’s not so easy here in Italy, but that’s another story.
Rolled turkey breast with hazelnut and raisin stuffing | Arrotolato di tacchino con nocciole e uvetta
➤ SERVES: 4
➤ PREPARATION: 15 minutes
➤ COOKING: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 large turkey breast, approx 400g
- 6 rashers of bacon
- 150g parmesan, grated
- 50g raisins
- 100g breadcrumbs (plus extra for shaping)
- 3 organic free-range eggs
- 80g hazelnuts, shelled and chopped
- fresh sage leaves
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and black pepper
Method:
- Fillet the turkey breast and lay it flat on a large wooden cutting board, sprinkled with breadcrumbs. Sprinkle more breadcrumbs over the top of the breast and begin to gently bat it out with a meat batter as you would with cotoletta. But go more gently with turkey.
- To make the stuffing, add the parmesan, raisins, nuts, breadcrumbs and salt and pepper to a large bowl. Crack in the eggs and mix into a ball with your hands. If it feels a little dry, just add an extra egg.
- Place the stuffing onto the turkey breast and roll. Stretch the bacon out onto a work surface and wrap around the turkey breast. Tie with kitchen string. Place in a baking tray, add the sage, a little salt and pepper over the top and drizzle with olive oil.
- Roast in a preheated oven at 180ºC/Gas Mark 4 for 45 minutes. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
TIP: Do go carefully batting out the breast. If you make a hole, simply pinch the meat together, sprinkle a little breadcrumb and continue.
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