Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Turkey Saltimbocca Roll-Ups, Mushroom and White Bean Ragout, and Spinach with Pancetta and Onions

WOW!! That is a mouthful! When I first read recipe #18 I had to check the front of the book to make sure that I was reading the right one. This just seemed like a very difficult, loooooooooong recipe. Don't get me wrong, it sounded awesome, but it just looked very difficult. True it does seem to be the most complex Rachael recipe I have done of so far. But the work sure pays off in the end. Plus I have the world's greatest sous chef/boyfriend (thank Goodness!!).

Like I said, this is a long recipe, so don't let the length of it, or amount of pans you will have going at once, scare you off. I was really quite proud of myself once I got it going. My nerves gave way and then I was just downright excited to get it done and in my belly!

Kevin and I prepped everything before hand, so I really didn't cook the "Rachael way" for this one. I just figured if all of the prep work was done BEFORE I started cooking I would be less stressed out about getting everything in the right pan at the right time.

Again a recipe that called for turkey cutlets, and again not a turkey cutlet to be found in the whole town. Luckily for me the store had some HUGE chicken  breasts on sale. I needed 12 cutlets, so I grabbed 3 of the gigantic breasts and tracked down my friendly butcher to get them sliced into 4 cutlets each.

Once I got them home it was really easy to pound them out for the roll-ups. I will admit that I doubled up on the prosciutto for each roll-ups. I just like that saltiness it adds and since there is no cheese I figured a little more wouldn't hurt. I have a huge sage plant in my backyard, so I was able to get some nice large sage leaves to put into the roll-ups. I really wanted to make sure there was a bit of sage in each bite and sometimes the sage leaves in the store bought packages can be a bit wimpy.

After we got all of the roll-ups completed and seasoned we set them aside so we could get everything else prepped. That really didn't take very long, not as long as I thought it would after looking at the recipe, so we were in business and ready to rock and roll. We followed the timing on the recipe pretty close so everything came out yummy and warm ready to be eaten at the same time, which was my big fear. The only thing I did different was to leave the ragout over low heat while I finished the roll-ups and cooked the spinach.

Everyone LOVED this one. It was not only tasty but the roll-ups were really pretty. The cutlets were juicy and the gravy was soooo tummy. I am surprised however that anyone else got any of the mushroom and white bean ragout because I was nibbling away at it while it cooked. One of the perks about being the chef!

So with all of the votes in I really think this is one you should give a try. It is a nice meal to make when you have a couple friends over. One that will make them think you are so fancy and slaved away cooking, but it is our secret that you didn't.


see how pretty they look
my fave white wine vinegar

Turkey (Chicken) Saltimbocca Roll-Ups, Mushroom and White Bean Ragout, and Spinach with Pancetta and Onions.

Ingredients

12 turkey (chicken) cutlets
6 slices of prosciutto de Parma, cut in half
12 whole fresh sage leaves plus 2 tablespoons chopped sage
4 tablespoons EVOO plus more for drizzling
salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 15 ounce can cannellini beans
2 tablespoons wine vinegar, white or red
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 dry white wine (eyeball it)
1/8 pound (3 slices) pancetta, chopped
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 pound triple washed spinach, stemmed and coarsely chopped ( I used baby spinach)
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg, (eyeball it)

Using a meat mallet or heavy, small skillet, ound the turkey between sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap to 1/8 inch thickness. Top each turkey cutlet with a half slice of prosciutto and a whole sage leaf. Roll up the cutlets and drizle them with EVOO, then season with salt and pepper, and poultry seasoning. Heat a large non stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the EVOO, once around the pan. Arrange the roll-ups seam side down and cook for 6 minutes, then turn and cook for 6  minutes more.

While the turkey cooks, make the mushroom and white bean ragout. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of EVOO, twice around the pan, then add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes to deepen the color. Stir in the beans and season up the mixture with salt and pepper. When the beans heat through, in a minute or two, add the vinegar and stor, then add 1/2 cup of the chicken stock to deglaze the pan. Turn off heat.

After the turkey roll-ups have cooked on both sides, transfer toa platter and reserve. Add the butter to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium low. Add the flour and whisk to combine. Whisk in the wine and cook it for about 30 seconds. Whisk in the remaining 1 1/2 cups chicken stock to make the gravy. Add the remaining chopped sage, then season with salt and pepper. Slide the roll-ups back into the gravy and simmer over low heat until ready to serve.

For the spinach, heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining tablespoon of EVOO, once around the pan, then the chopped pancetta. Brown the pancetta for 1 minute, then add the onions and cook together for 5 minutes, or until they are just tender and the pancetta bits are crisp. Add the spinach to the pan and turn to wilt it while combining with the onions. Season spinach with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Serve 3 roll-ups in gravy with a portion of the ragout and the spinach alongside.

Serve 4



2 comments:

  1. you liked this because you used chicken instead of turkey. This recipe is a huge dissapointment when you use turkey.

    ReplyDelete