Roasted turkey breast with prosciutto and thyme is great dish to serve for Christmas in July. A breast is more manageable to roast than an entire bird, and it’s also easy to carve. Order your turkey from the butcher ahead of time so that you can get your preferred size. A 2 kg breast is a good size for 6 to 8 people. Use the leftover pan juices and slices to make a soup with chopped vegetables and barley. Or, mix some chopped turkey slices with mayonnaise, pistachios or, celery, lime and mint for an excellent sandwich filling. How do you like to use your left-over roast turkey?
Simple side dishes to accompany your roasted turkey breast with prosciutto and thyme are Roasted Cauliflower with pangrattato and Roasted rosemary kipfler potatoes.
Best wishes,
Amanda
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Roasted turkey breast with prosciutto and thyme
Ingredients
- 1 x 2 kg turkey breast
- 8 slices prosciutto
- 6 large sprigs of thyme substitute with sage
- olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 cup water
Cranberry and Apple Sauce
- 1 cup dried cranberries I like Market Grocer premium cranberries
- 1 large red apple, washed and grated
- 2 eschallots, peeled and finely chopped substitute with 1/2 red onion
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 orange, rind only
- 1 cup water
- flaked sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Take the turkey out of its plastic wrapping the day before cooking, pat it dry with paper towels. Leave it resting on paper towels in a large baking dish and covered with paper towels in the fridge overnight.
- The next day, take the turkey breast out of the fridge 2 hours before cooking. Remove the string. Brush it with olive oil, then rub about 2 tsp of salt all over the breast.
- Carefully arrange the strips of prosciutto around the breast. It can be done by one person, but it’s easier if you have someone on hand to help. Tie the strips of prosciutto around the breast with fresh string (about 5 pieces), and tuck the herbs into the string.
- Rest the breast on a rack in the middle of a roasting tray. Pour in the water and the wine.
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC (180ºC fan-forced) and roast it for 20 minutes.
- Turn the temperature down to 150ºC (130ºC fan-forced). Check that there’s still liquid in the bottom of the tray. If not, add equal parts of water and wine to the tray. Then roast the turkey for another 20 minutes per 500 g. It's hard to be precise as everyone's oven is different. If you have a meat thermometer, the internal temperature will measure 65ºC when it’s cooked through, and the juices will run clear.
- Remove from the oven, cover with foil, and rest for 1/2 hour. Remove the string with scissors and carve when ready to serve. Pour some of the pan juices over the top and serve the remainder in a jug. Serve with cranberry apple sauce on the side.
Cranberry and Apple Sauce
- Sauté the eschllaot with a pinch of sea salt in the olive oil in a large saucepan until soft.
- Add all the other ingredients, bring to simmer and and cook for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquids have reduced and the sauce is a jammy consistency.
- Remove from heat, discard the orange rind and season to taste. Store it in a sealed container in the fridge until ready to serve. The sauce can be served at room temperature alongside the turkey breast.
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