Turkey steaks in sweet wine and mushroom sauce - #TurkeyTractorChallenge

Cooking challenges are always great fun. If you follow my blog, or even dip in from time to time, you might have noticed my love of blogger challenges. Recently British Turkey and Red Tractor have teamed up and invited bloggers to create a recipe, using British turkey and a range of Red Tractor approved ingredients.
The winner will receive £250 of supermarket vouchers and will have their award presented to them at the British Turkey Awards at the Sheraton Park lane hotel in September.
The current theme of the challenge is "Best of British". The competition closes on 26th of August, so if you fancy taking part, you'd better hurry (T&Cs can be found on British Turkey site).

I used a generic "dessert wine" ingredient in the list, as it could also be cooked with a marsala, sweet sherry, or any other dessert wine.
It is easy to make, and the sauce adds a rich note to the healthy low-calorie turkey steaks.
Fennel has been known in this country since the days of the Romans, its flavour and aroma complement many meat dishes. Mushrooms are another of my favourite ingredients.

Turkey steaks in sweet wine and mushroom sauce
Ingredients:
turkey steaks (about 400g+)
3tbsp olive oil + more for sauce
2 heaped tbsp flour
salt, black pepper
200g button mushrooms, sliced
2tbsp butter
120ml chicken stock
120ml sweet dessert wine
1tsp cornflour
1 fennel, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1tsp lemon juice
dried thyme and basil

In a wide bowl mix together flour with salt and pepper. Dip the turkey steaks in the bowl and shake off the excess flour.
In a large skillet, cook the turkey steaks in olive oil for about 7 minutes or so on each side until the steaks are cooked through. Remove the steaks, place on a plate and cover to keep warm.
Slice the mushrooms, cook with more oil + butter in the same skillet where you cooked turkey. Add the chicken stock (about 1 flat teaspoon of chicken stock powder diluted in 120ml hot water), and the dessert wine. Cook on low for about 10 minutes, stirring until the liquid has reduced.
Dissolve 1tsp of cornflour in cold water, stir well and add to the sauce. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice in the sauce as well.
In the meantime slice the fennel and red onion and cook with oil in a frying pan, stirring frequently. Add some dried herbs.
Serve the turkey steaks with the fennel and onion side dish. Serve the mushroom sauce over the steaks.
It would also go well with mashed potatoes, but as it is summer, I opted for a lighter vegetable side dish.
A green salad is another alternative.

Disclosure: I was invited to take part in the cooking challenge with a future refund for the ingredients, that is if I manage to find my receipt, me being so disorganised.

Lurpak Infusions

It's funny just how brand-oriented some of our food choices are. If I'm baking cakes, I go for an Anchor butter, if I plan to make a batch of cookies, then a spread like Flora would find its way into my shopping basket. As for a morning toast, there is no - it must be Lurpak. We all love the salty buttery spread, which melts over a hot toast, creating a perfect combination of flavours.
Lurpak - a well known and much loved brand of butter and spreadable - has recently unveiled Lurpak Infusions, a blend of butter and rapeseed oil with added herbs and spices, all lightly whipped for the ease of spreading.
There are three new flavours - Chilli & Lime, Smoked Chipotle and Sea Salt & Pink Peppercorn.

Dan Lepard, a master of baking, has given his endorsement to the new range and offered his serving suggestions with such mouth-watering recipes as Hor Smoked Salmon on soda bread with Lurpak Spreadable Infusions Sea Salt & Pink Peppercorn, Lurpak Spreadable Infusions Smoked Chipotle & pulled pork bagel and Lamb kebab in pitta with Lurpak Spreadable Infusions Chilli & Lime.

Well, Dan is a celebrity chef with a magic touch, and has inspired many legions of fans.

But what can ordinary Mums - like me - who have a family to feed and a home to run do with the new spreadable flavours?

Sea Salt & Pink Peppercorn spread was probably my top favourite. It is meant to be ideal for paninis and soda bread.
The peppercorn smells and tastes very fresh, and looks so pretty, with specks of bright pink.

It added an extra flavour to a classic Reuben sandwich.

Apart from sandwiches, you can use it as an ingredient in all kinds of meals - from mains to side dishes.
For example, it gave a wonderful flavour to roasted baby carrots.

Smoked Chipotle spread is pastel orange in colour, easily spreadable, great for burrito-style wraps. It's not a spread with a delicate hint of chipotle, neither does it hit you with a heat wave, it's somewhere in between, flavourful and creamy.

The other day I cooked a roast chicken, and used Smoked Chipotle (about 3 heaped tbsp) to smother the chicken all over. If you enjoy your roast really hot, you might want to top up the chipotle or perhaps chop up a fresh chilli and add to the spread. To keep the chicken moist, add a whole red onion and halved lemon in the cavity too.
The gravy made with the chicken stock and the juice from the roast was tasty, with a hint of heat and smokiness, but not overwhelming.

I have added a smoked chipotle spread to a dish of fried courgettes and tomatoes cooked with garlic cloves and tomato paste. It works well with the vegetables.

Heat up a pitta bread in the toaster, slice in half, creating a pocket, spoon 2-3 tbsp of the courgette-tomato mix, add a chopped sausage.

Chilli & Lime combines the lime zest with the red hot chilli. Lovely in grilled cheese sandwiches, it is another creative cooking ingredient.

For a flavourful turkey stir fry, melt a couple of tablespoons of Chilli & Lime spread, add the strips of turkey and sliced sweet peppers, cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Serve with rice.

Have you tried new Lurpak Infusions? What did you cook with them?

Disclosure: I received three tubs of new Lurpak Infusions for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Turkey steaks with a parmesan and pesto crust

I had a difficult day today, with a medical appointment out of town, which I have dreaded. Thankfully, it wasn't what I was afraid it might be. I arrived home, quite tired and drained emotionally, but still needed to cook dinner. Though my men professed they would be happy with just sandwiches and snacks, I cooked dinner for everyone: pasta for Eddie, soup and sandwiches for Sasha, and turkey steaks for my husband and myself.
Turkey steaks don't take a long time to cook, and I had a pack of pesto pots from Sacla which I wanted to try as a topping for the steaks. Sacla pesto is one of the foods you could probably find in my kitchen at any given time. It is a convenient cupboard staple, handy for any time you fancy a plate of spaghetti, a bowl of minestrone or a cauliflower cheese with an Italian twist.
Sacla has recently added pesto pots to their wide range of pesto products.

Turkey steaks with a parmesan and pesto crust (serves 2)
Ingredients:
2 turkey steaks (230g)
2tbsp olive oil
1 Sacla pesto pot
3tbsp grated parmesan
a handful of pine nuts
sea salt
Put the steaks on the hot oiled grill pan and cook for about 3 minutes on each side. Then place the steaks on a tray or ceramic dish, spoon the contents of pesto pot over the steaks. Put the tray in the oven preheated to 180C, cook for about 10 minutes, then add the pine nuts and grated parmesan, cook for another 5 minutes or until the steaks are cooked through.

Serve hot, with a simple salad.
I did a salad of mixed leaves, sliced tomatoes, cubed cheese and chopped spring onions. And because I love pickles, I also scattered a few baby onions on a plate as well/

Disclosure: Sacla pesto pots were part of the latest Degustabox food delivery box which I receive every month for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Turkey, leek and potato pie

Another after-Christmas day, another dilemma on what to do with the leftovers. Yesterday we had a Boxing day turkey soup. Today I spotted a nice recipe for Turkey, leek and mashed potato pie recipe from Delicious magazine which conveniently arrived by email. I have adapted it, and though we had some Stilton and pancetta, I didn't want the pie to be too fatty and rich, so I skipped those ingredients altogether.
Once all the leftovers and cheese is gone, I really fancy just a plain salad.
I also don't like the taste of the roast potatoes the day or two after they were cooked, and mashing them for the pie didn't appeal at all, so I cooked fresh mashed potatoes just for the pie.

Turkey, leek and potato pie
Ingredients:
2 leeks, finely sliced
1/2 red onion, finely sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
dried basil
450g white turkey meat, cubed
1tsp fresh thyme leaves
4 medium potatoes
1 tub single cream + more (about 300ml)
2tsp butter
100g Cheddar, grated

Slice the leeks and onion and fry with the olive oil for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with the dried basil. Cube the turkey and place in an oiled medium sized ceramic pie dish or casserole. Layer the leeks and onion mix over the turkey. Pour a bit of cream over.
Cook potatoes in salted water. Drain, leaving some of the liquid in a mug. Mash the potatoes, mix with the single cream and add a bit of potato liquid to make the mash slightly lighter in texture and easier to spread.

Spread over the turkey and leeks. Add a little bit of butter on top. Place the dish in the oven preheated to 180C. Cook for about 25+ minutes. Add the grated cheese in the last 8-10 minutes of cooking. Once the cheese has melted and turned golden brown, it's ready.
Serve hot.

This variation on the shepherd's or cottage pie with the leftover turkey is a real winner. It might not be a great looker, but it tastes lovely, and it's an easy recipe too.

Boxing Day turkey soup

I spent hours slaving in the kitchen yesterday, cooking a Christmas lunch for my family and friends. Half an hour before our guests arrived, my younger son piped in that he wanted some Christmas pasta (we got it in Lakeland, and he's been eating it daily for the last couple of weeks). No amount of persuasion that soon we were going to eat worked. So I cooked him a plate of pasta. It must be his Italian genes to blame.

By the time our guests arrived, I was knackered and irritable. My gravy was coddling and I was ready to chuck the pan in the garden, pan with gravy, apron and all. Thankfully, one of our friends came to the rescue and made a very good gravy. 

We had a veritable feast of salmon with blinis and roast gammon as a starter, followed by the turkey with all the trimmings - roast potatoes, parsnips with candied walnuts, carrots with fennel seeds, red cabbage, sprouts with pancetta and chestnuts, pigs in blankets, stuffing balls and cranberry sauce. I didn't bother with the bread sauce, I don't like it and don't see the point of it. You probably need to be born British to appreciate the "beauty" of it. I also warned my guests that we would be having an Italian-style dessert, and if they fancied a Christmas pudding, they'd have to bring their own. They brought a wonderful homemade tiramisu made with Marsala wine and homebaked gluten-free savoiardi biscuits. So, we ended up indulging in the excellent Pandoro and splendid tiramisu. By the end of the meal, I suspect we all felt like the proverbial turkey.

Though I gave our friends a "doggy bag" with leftovers, we still need to go through a big mount of food. This morning I opened the fridge and looked wistfully, pondering what should I do with the leftovers. Nobody fancied a Boxing day sandwich with leftovers. Turkey curry always reminds me of Bridget Jones' Mum's culinary expertise. Bubble and squeak? Too British. 

What about a slightly Oriental soup with the leftover turkey and vegetables? Yes, that sounds better.

So, soup it was.

Boxing Day turkey soup

Ingredients:

About 250g turkey meat, chopped or broken into smaller pieces

1 medium sized leek, sliced thinly

cooked carrot batons (about 1 full carrot in total)

cooked parsnip (about 1 full parsnip in total)

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled

2cm grated fresh ginger

a handful of cooked sprouts

1tbsp soy sauce

1tsp white wine vinegar

2 egg noodle nests, broken into smaller pieces

If you have any bones left, put them in a pan and cover with boiling water. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, then spoon the bones out and discard. Slice finely a medium leek and put in the pan with the broth. add the stock cube and finely chopped garlic. Add the sliced carrots and parsnips and grate the  fresh ginger in.
Slice the sprouts and chop or cut the turkey meat into small pieces. Chuck everything in, bring to boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add a splash of vinegar. I suppose the rice vinegar would have been a more authentic Asian flavour, but I didn't have any, so I added just white wine vinegar. In the last five minutes of cooking break a couple of small egg noodle nests in.
Serve hot.

It is a lovely flavourful soup. It will also work well with the roast duck leftovers. If you have spring onions or fresh coriander, that would be a nice addition to the soup as well.

If you had a turkey yesterday for Christmas, what did you make with the leftovers today?

Turkey cannonballs

It's been a while since I took part in a culinary challenge, and though with school holidays, I am hard pressed, I just couldn't resist creating a recipe for #TurkeyTractorChallenge competition run by British Turkey and Red Tractor.
Bloggers have been invited to create a delicious recipe using quality British turkey and a minimum of two non-meat Red Tractor approved ingredients. The theme for the challenge was a surprise - Pirates.
When you have younger children, anything pirate-themed is always met with Hurrah.

The recipe I am entering into the competition is called Turkey cannonballs, which is just turkey meatballs in "pirate-speak".
Turkey cannonballs
Ingredients:
500g 2% fat British turkey breast mince
2 slices of bread (I used Warburton's medium sliced bread) - 45g
50ml semi-skimmed milk
1 clove of garlic
zest of 1 lemon
a good pinch of paprika
1tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 egg yolk
sea salt
50 g dried apricots (optional)
3+tbsp olive oil
150ml vegetable stock
a handful of baby tomatoes
Toast two bread slices for a minute and a half. Take out the toast, break into smaller pieces and soak in milk for a few minutes. Then squeeze the milk out of the bread mix. Add the wet bread to a deep bowl, where you have put the turkey mince. Season well with the sea salt, add the spices, pressed garlic and lemon zest, fresh thyme (dried would be fine too), egg yolk and chopped dried apricots. Mix well, using hands.
Place a bowl with cold water next to the bowl with the mince. Dip your hands in cold water before forming each meatball.
Fry the meatballs for about 4 minutes in a grill pan, turning them, until slightly browned on all sides. Then put the meatballs in a big sized ceramic dish or tray, scatter the tomatoes between them and pour the oil from the frying pan. You might add another tablespoon of oil.
Pour the stock around the meatballs and cook in the oven preheated to 180C for about 15 minutes.

Meatballs in the grill pan; + just before the tray is put in the oven

You can substitute bread for a grated raw potato. In fact, that's what my Mum usually does.

These are very tasty meatballs. Both of my guys are not keen on the red meat, but they will eat chicken or turkey. The meatballs are lovely with mashed potatoes, pasta or rice.

To go with the pirate theme, I have made a cannon from a cooked whole parsnip and apple slices. Eddie was much amused by my creative effort. But he judged the cannonballs to be tasty. We had a talk about what the pirates like to eat, and he thought they would approve of our turkey meatballs.
Yo Ho Ho, and a bottle of rum (or a glass of iced tea in our case)!

Turkey cutlets

British turkey is a real superfood and a great choice for your everyday meals. It is a versatile food that could be used in a multitude of tasty dishes, from wraps to stir fry, from pasta to the turkey curry (I must admit the words "turkey curry" always makes me smile and think of Bridget Jones and her Mum's annual turkey buffet, I can just see her saying "Yummy, turkey curry, my favourite!"). To prove that turkey should not be relegated to a once-a-year meal at Christmas time, the British Turkey are challenging the bloggers to come up with everyday turkey recipes.
And here is my recipe for Turkey cutlets (actually it's my Mum's recipe, and is our family favourite).

Turkey cutlets
Ingredients:
500g minced turkey (breast)
200g cooked rice
1 egg
1 small onion, finely chopped
salt, pepper
a generous handful of herbs: mint, basil, parsley
a few spring onions
pinch of paprika
2 carrots
a handful of green grapes
3-4 tbsp rapeseed oil

First cook the rice (you will need about 200g of cooked rice) and let it cool.
In a deep bowl mix the minced turkey with the finely chopped onion, egg, ice and herbs, season well, and using your hands, shape the cutlets (they should be bigger than the meatballs and oval-shaped rather than round).

Fry in a deep frying pan until golden on both sides (about 10 minutes) with the rapeseed oil, add the sliced carrots, spring onions and grapes, lower the heat and cook for another 15 minutes.
Serve with the roast baby potatoes.

The cutlets would keep in the fridge for a couple of days.

If you love cooking with British turkey, do you fancy being crowned British Turkey Blogger of the Year 2013 and receive £200 of vouchers to spend at your chosen supermarket? If the answer is yes, hurry to enter the British Turkey Blogger Recipe competition (link removed as expired).
Two non-meat Red Tractor approved ingredients in my dish are carrots and onion (+ rapeseed oil).

Turkey and seafood antipasto salad

It all started a few weeks ago when I took part in the Talking Turkey Twitter party. I love Twitter parties for the quick succession of ideas and banter, focused on a particular topic. It was then that the idea of a Turkey and Seafood Antipasto salad was born.

That particular Twitter party was organised by the British Turkey site and the questions were answered by some well-known names in the culinary world including the celebrity chef Phil Vickery who is a passionate supporter of all foodie things British, including the turkey.
It was Jaime Oliver's exclamation that she has never tried the combination of the turkey and prawns that made me think "Neither have I. Am I missing something?" And we jokingly pledged among ourselves to try a new turkey recipe and then blog about it.
And imagine my delight and near shock, when the irresistible Mr Vickery himself has replied to my tweet. My heart skipped a beat.

I should have taken notes while preparing this salad, but I didn't, and as it was before our trip to Cornwall, my list of ingredients is a bit on the vague side. But I hope the precise measurements don't really matter.
I just wanted to share the idea with you and hopefully inspire you to experiment with the ingredients.
What I found out that the turkey works really well with the seafood, and that I am going to make this salad again.

Turkey and seafood antipasto salad
Ingredients:
about 250g turkey breast fillets, sliced
1/2 orange (use the juice and zest)
1 apple, sliced
2/3 jar of seafood antipasto (I used Waitrose Seafood Antipasto and vegetables jar with extra virgin olive oil)
a handful of rocket
1 red sweet pepper
a handful of fresh peas
olive oil and lemon juice for the dressing
Fry the sliced turkey breast dipped in flour & orange zest in the olive oil and orange juice until golden brown. Season well. Mix in a deep bowl with the sliced apples, podded fresh peas, sliced sweet pepper and seafood mix (squid, cuttlefish, olives, carrots, gherkins, prawns). You can use the infused olive oil from the jar to add to the salad, and a generous squeeze of lemon (at least 1/3 of a lemon). Place the rocket leaves on the plates and pile the salad on top.
It was a light dinner meal, perfect for the summer weather. And a glass of wine wouldn't go amiss.

I wonder how Jaime Oliver and Gourmet Mum fared with their turkey recipes?
If you'd love to read what Gourmet Mum cooked, check her recipe Mozzarella Stuffed Italian Herb Turkey Burgers.

Turkey alla cacciatore

To prove that turkey is not just a meal reserved for Christmas, BritMums and Lean on Turkey have challenged the foodie bloggers to come up with the quick recipes using the turkey meat. My dish has been inspired by the Italian recipe. Traditionally "alla cacciatore" is cooked with chicken or rabbit, but turkey works perfectly well in this recipe.  Cacciatore means “hunter” in Italian. It is prepared with tomatoes, herbs, onions and wine.

Turkey alla cacciatore
Ingredients:
500g turkey (diced breast fillet)
25g dried porcini mushrooms
2tbsp olive oil
1 onion
2 celery stalks, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
half a glass of red wine (if you are using a slow cooker, then top it up to half a bottle)
1 tin of plum tomatoes
1 tin (400g) pinto beans
1tbsp plain flour
a handful of olives
a handful of fresh herbs (sage, thyme, mint, chives, rosemary)
1/2 garlic bulb
1 bay leaf
a few ladlefuls of chicken stock or water (a chicken stock cube should be enough)
salt, pepper

Cooking time: 30 minutes (excluding the soaking time and veg prep)


Start by soaking 25g of dried porcini mushrooms in freshly boiled water, just pour over the dried mushrooms and let them soak for about 15 minutes. If you are short of time, skip the porcini soaking stage and just dissolve a cube of porcini stock (for example, Italian brand Star porcini stock cubes are available in all good supermarkets. Mind you, they are pretty salty, so you would need to adjust the amount of salt you are using accordingly).

Place the diced turkey in a very deep frying pan and fry for about five minutes together with the finely sliced onion and celery, then add the sliced carrot and chopped herbs.
Add the garlic cloves whole (you don't have to peel it, just divide the cloves).

Add the tomatoes, olives and chopped porcini. In a small bowl mix a tablespoon of plain flour with the porcini liquid (add one spoon at a time) until you have a smooth runny paste (it will take about 4 tbsp of porcini liquid). Add the paste to the pan, then the rest of the porcini liquid, plus the bay leaf. Add the red wine and chicken stock (your turkey/veg mix should be covered with the stock or hot water). Bring to the boil, then cook on low for about 15 minutes. Add the pinto beans just before serving to heat them through. Season well.
Serve with a nice chunk of bread to mop up all the juices.

Typically I would cook this stew on very low for about an hour and a half, and then add more wine, but you can make it in half an hour.
I love the porcini mushrooms, they bring a wonderful flavour to all kinds of dishes and works really well with the turkey.




This post is my entry for BritMums’ Summer Turkey Recipe Challenge” (link removed as expired).
For more turkey recipes visit the Lean on Turkey site.