Stuffed Turkey Breast With An Apple Pear Glaze & Candied Pecans

Ingredients (serves 6)

2 whole turkey breasts (roughly 2 lbs each)

2 c shaved sweet potato

2 large leeks (bottoms washed and cut across into half moons)

1/2 c dried cranberries

1 c apple juice

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 oz bourbon

1/4 granulated sugar

3 Tbsp butter melted

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 c chopped sage

1/4 c chopped parsley

2 Granny Smith apples (diced); reserve scraps to make sauce

2 Anjou pears (diced); reserve scraps for sauce

3/4 c pecans

1 egg white

1 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp Old Bay seasoning

1 tsp paprika

Salt and black pepper to your liking

Directions

Start by heating your oven to 350 degrees. Deglaze a hot pan with the bourbon to burn off the alcohol. When the bourbon is reduced by half, add the sugar and apple juice.

Heat that mixture until the sugar is dissolved. Soak the cranberries for 10 minutes while you sauté the shaved sweet potatoes and leeks in a tablespoon of olive oil, just until they are soft and translucent.

Meanwhile, between two sheets of plastic wrap, gently pound the turkey breasts until they have an even thickness, about an inch. Season the turkey breast, drain, and reserve the liquid used to rehydrate the cranberries.

At this point you will want to have the butcher’s twine handy. Stuff the pounded breasts with the sweet potato, leek, herb, and cranberry filling. Do not over stuff the breast. Roll and truss each turkey breast.

In a couple of hot sauté pans, sear the skin with a mixture of olive oil and butter over medium high heat to brown the skin.

Place them in the oven for 25 minutes remembering to rotate half way through the cooking process.

Once the turkey is in the oven you can gently heat the liquid reserved from earlier from the leftover scraps from dicing your fruit.

Once the fruit is cooked and soft, purée the mixture to make a sauce and fold in the diced fruit. Keep warm to serve.

Toss the pecans in the spice mix, and then add the egg white. Mix everything together in a bowl and spread the coated nuts evenly across a sheet tray lined with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 for seven minutes and remove to allow time to cool.

When the turkey comes out of the oven snip away the twine and slice into 1.5-inch thick medallions. Coat with the warm sauce and finish by crumbling the candied pecans over the dish.