Recipe: Braised Turkey with Scallions, Lemon and Dill

Recipe Source: Kremezi, Aglaia.  The Foods of the Greek Islands.  Houghton Mifflin, New York, 2000 p. 133

My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal was always the stuffing.  I shared only with extreme reluctance.  The recipe, which I posted last year, originally came from my grandmother, although I only ever had it made at my mother's hands.  When I was very small I was permitted to help make it by tearing up the bread into appropriate-sized pieces.  Not only did it free my mom up to work on other parts of Thanksgiving, it also gave me the feeling that I owned part of Thanksgiving dinner.  I'd helped in some way. 

Anyway, fast-forward a whole lot of years.  Last year I got to eat Thanksgiving dinner at home for the first time since 1996, and it was a beautiful and wonderful thing.  There was stuffing.  Lots of stuffing.  There was other food too, and it was very tasty, but really what I liked best was the stuffing (and my aunt's chocolate pie.)  Most years we have Thanksgiving with my husband's family.  They have their own stuffing recipe.  It is very different from my family's recipe.  It's still good, don't get me wrong, but it isn't the same. 

This year we're retreating to our old pattern of Thanksgiving with my husband's family.  This will be nice - it's always nice to see them, and it's especially nice now since his cousin is due at the same time that I am.  I was still feeling pretty down, though.  I wanted stuffing - the stuffing - and I wasn't going to get it.  Then I put on my big-girl pants.  So I wouldn't have stuffing on Thanksgiving Day.  I have a big beautiful kitchen.  What was to stop me from making my beloved stuffing on a day that was not the third Thursday in November or whatever?  I've developed a severe intolerance to pork, but there are chicken sausages out there that are almost as good.  I lacked duck stock too, but I had plenty of Lemony Vegetable Broth to make up for it.  I made the stuffing.  All I had to do was come up with something to go with it.

Which is where we get to our featured recipe for today.  You don't have to serve The Stuffing with turkey, but there's no reason why you shouldn't.  Turkey is tasty, and tends to be a little healthier than chicken (at least in my head; there's no scientific basis for that), and it really is a shame that we only think of eating turkey in November and sometimes December.  This particular turkey recipe matched incredibly well with The Stuffing.  The sauce, in particular, was just wonderful.  The lemon in the sauce paired beautifully with the lemon in the broth. 

I did make a couple of changes.  First, I couldn't find turkey drumsticks or thighs.  They'd been there last week, but not this week.  Oh well.  There was a half a turkey breast, bone-in, that was just about the right weight for my purposes.  It had the added bonus of letting me get out some of my frustrations by hacking it into pieces with a cleaver as well.  That sort of therapy you just can't overestimate.  I used Lemony Vegetable Broth instead of the chicken stock called for, because I had it on hand.  That's really it.  It's a very simple and very delicious recipe.  If you don't want to make The Stuffing to serve it with, the sauce would compliment mashed potatoes very nicely, and rice would probably be more authentic anyway.  (But if you want my advice, you'll make The Stuffing.) 

Braised Turkey with Scallions, Lemon and Dill (serves 4; approx. $4.32/serving)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 bone-in turkey breast, cut into 4 pieces

2 large bunches of scallions, cut into 1" pieces (use the whole scallion, please.) 

1 cup white wine

1/2 cup Lemony Vegetable Broth

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

4 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Equipment:

• Dutch oven

1. Heat the oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. 
2. Add the turkey bits and cook until golden on all sides, turning frequently.
3. Evacuate the turkey bits to a plate or something similar.  Add the scallions to the pan mixture and saute until wilted.
4. Arrange the turkey bits on top of the scallions.  (It sounds fussy, I know, but it both affects the flavor of the finished product AND makes cleanup much easier.)  Add the wine and the broth along with the salt and pepper.
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. 
6. Turn the meat over and simmer, covered, another 20 minutes.
7. Add the lemon juice and most of the dill to the pan.  Cook uncovered 10 more minutes. 
8. Serve, sprinkled with the remaining dill. 

Comments

[nora@ffr]

want to have that right now!!

[Juliana]

Oh! Your turkey breast looks delicious!

[Mrs. L]

I always think I should eat turkey at other times of the year but never really find good recipes. This sounds like something I'd like.