Old Stuff |
![]() ![]() www.wineoftheweek.com edited by Sue Courtney e-mail address: winetaster@clear.net.nz
Once upon a time Turkey was a rarity on the New Zealand dinner table. The bird was usually only seen on the market at Christmas time and then they were frozen. How things have changed. Now at the supermarket I can buy fresh Turkey pieces, similar to chicken pieces. There are all sorts of cuts including drums, leg steaks, breasts and the popular 'nibbles'. It is great to see the product so accessible at all times of the year and here in New Zealand we can also enjoy cuts of Turkey for our "Mid-winter Christmas" dinners. I spotted a packet of 'breast' containing two pieces that looked liked suitable serving portions for two people. The packet weighed in at 450 grams or a pound and had a price of $9.50. The packet had a recipe suggestion 'Turkey fillets in Cranberry Port Glaze'. Go to our website for the recipe, it stated.. I said to myself "I've got cranberries and port at home", so put the packet into my trolley and proceeded to the checkout. When I looked up the recipe on www.tegel.co.nz, I didn't have the correct ingredients at all !! Tegel, why don't you list the ingredients on the packet? That way I would have walked out of the supermarket knowing I had the necessary ingredients either my trolley or my pantry. My improvisation on the theme was the following recipe - Take 2 pieces of Turkey Breast meat, each about 225 grams (or 8 oz). Wash and dry the breast meat. Slice each breast into 4 pieces. Coat with flour. Melt two tablespoons of the butter in a non-stick pan and cook meat for 5 minutes on each side to become golden brown. Put aside. Boil some water in the kettle. Place the tamarillos in a bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Leave to soak in the water for about 2 minutes. Remove one tamarillo at a time, peel the skin off and discard. Now roughly chop the fruit. Peel and cut half a dozen thin slices from the red onion. Chop these slices finely to end up with two tablespoons of very finely chopped onion. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pan. Saute the onions for about 2 minutes, until soft but not browning. Add the chopped tamarillo and stir well. Cook for another two minutes. Add the port, tangelo juice and sugar and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Return breast meat to the pan. Cook for another 10 minutes. Plate the turkey pieces and pour the remaining sauce over. Accompany with a pinot noir. Choose a pinot noir that has strong tamarillo flavours, such as one from Canterbury. Recommended is Floating Mountain Pinot Noir 2001, which was absolutely sensational on its own as well as with this dish. The turkey was accompanied with whole baby beetroot, whole baby turnips and brown mushrooms. These were oven roasted whole in garlic flavoured olive oil. Bake for 40 minutes. Add the mushrooms after 20 minutes. More Tamarillo Recipes Simple tamarillo Jus for steak or lamb Tamarillo and Mint Jam Take about 1.5 kilos of tamarillos. Blanch in boiling water, peel and chop. Measure the tamarillos and for each cup, use 3/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water. Add sprigs of fresh mint and stew together for about half an hour. Now mash the fruit with a potato masher to break up the chunky bits of flesh. Add lemon juice and bring to a rolling boil and cook for about 20 minutes. Bottle into warm sterilised jars. Again this is delicious added to the pan juices of steak or chops or the lamb roast. I also like it stirred into yoghurt for breakfast. Baked Tamarillos with Marsala Wine Bon Appetit © Sue Courtney |
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E-mail me: winetaster@clear.net.nz