Persimmon Couscous Stuffed Turkey Breast

Gobble Gobble (as the actress said to the bishop). It’s Turkey time! If you saw my turkey post recently you’ll now know what type of turkey you should be getting as we know there’s going to be lots eaten over the next month or so. There will be soups, sandwiches, stews, stocks, casseroles and God knows what else we can think to make with Mr. Turkey. Salting, roasting, brining–each American family has their own style to cook the bird. But what if your family is small and you’d rather not cook an entire turkey? I’ve got you covered!

I’ve made stuffed turkey breasts before (here and here) but for this recipe I wanted to give you the idea of stuffing the breast with something a bit more out of the ordinary yet still in keeping with Thanksgiving flavours. Guess you could say it’s a modern twist on the classic turkey & stuffing. I came across Persimmons in my CSA box and though I don’t have much experience with them after one bite I knew I had to use them.  In November and December persimmons are at their peak. I kept expecting the fruit to soften like a peach but as it turns out this type of persimmon, the Fuyu, is eaten like an apple. The taste of the flesh inside reminded me of a sweeter cantaloupe with the texture of a firm pear. The persimmon’s delightful flavour and texture turned out to be lovely addition to this dish.

RECIPE:

Serves 6

1 1/2 lb Organic, Grass fed, or Sustainable boneless turkey breast

1 cup organic chicken broth

1 cup couscous – dry

2 cups organic chicken broth

1/2 lemon – zested

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup celery – fine dice

1/2 white onion – fine dice

2 Fuyu persimmons – sliced and small diced

1 tbsp fresh thyme – chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

Begin by bringing 1 cup of the chicken broth, lemon zest and salt to a boil. Once boiling turn off heat and add couscous. Cover with lid.

Preheat saute pan on medium heat for 30 seconds and add 1 tbsp olive oil. Add celery and onion and saute for 5 mins, stirring, until softened. Once soft add diced persimmons and thyme.

Saute together for 4-5 additional minutes until persimmons are soft. Taste and season with S&P.

Add the cooked couscous to the persimmon mixture along with a drizzle of olive oil. Taste and season. Let cool before adding to turkey.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

To Assemble the Turkey: Lay the turkey on a clean cutting board. Using a sharp knife butterfly the breast by slicing along the side creating a book effect. Do not slice all the way through. Open the ‘book’. Place some plastic wrap on your work surface and lay the open turkey skin side down. Lay another layer of plastic wrap on top. Using a kitchen mallet or in my case a heavy bottomed saucepan, give the breast a few poundings to flatten. Don’t beat the living daylights out of it but you just want to thin it a little.

Lay 5 pieces of kitchen twine, about 12″ in length parallel to each other 2″ apart (If you’re saying, huh?….look at the photo). Lay the open turkey breast on top of the string, skin side down and season with S&P. Spoon enough of the couscous in the center to fill. You may have extra so don’t worry. Pat down the filling.

Fold over the top half and stuff any of the filling that falls out back in. Tie the strings tightly but not where the stuffing falls out too much.

Place turkey on a foiled oven tray. Drizzle olive oil over skin and season with S&P. Rub seasoned oil into flesh.

Add broth to oven tray and pop in the oven for up to 1 hour or until internal temperature of 155F.

Remove and let rest for 5-6 minutes to let juices redistribute back into meat.

Notice those glazed pearl onions? Recipe here. Cheers!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.