Perfect to serve on festive tables, including Christmas or New Year, my roast stuffed with prunes and chestnuts!
The stuffed roast has always been one of the main courses of Italian cuisine served on special occasions and can be made with veal, pork, or turkey.
In my case, I used turkey meat, and besides the dried fruit, the stuffing also includes speck, which helps to balance the sweet taste given by the prunes.
Very tasty and easy to make, as it doesn’t require great skills since you can have the turkey breast prepared by your trusted butcher, the roast stuffed with prunes and chestnuts will impress your guests.
So, get yourself some excellent chestnuts and pitted prunes, and let’s head to the kitchen together!
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 1 Day
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 8/10
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 1.76 lbs turkey breast
- 3.5 oz sliced speck
- 7 oz dried prunes (pitted)
- 7 oz chestnuts, boiled
- 2 tbsp mixed frozen vegetables
- extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups meat broth
- fine salt
- pepper
- rosemary (fresh)
- 1 glass red wine (such as Montepulciano)
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp juniper berries
Steps
Have your butcher prepare the turkey breast so it can be rolled.
– Place the piece of meat on the work surface, season with salt and pepper, and layer with the speck slices.
– Place the prunes and chestnuts, both roughly chopped, in the center. Roll up, tie with kitchen twine, and insert rosemary sprigs between the twine and the meat.
– Brown 3 or 4 tablespoons of oil in a large pan with the sautéed vegetables; place the piece of meat and brown it well on all sides to seal the pores.
– Grease a baking dish with a tablespoon of oil, place the roast (leaving the cooking juices and vegetables in the pan) and moisten it with 2 ladles of broth. Bake in a preheated oven for about 30/35 minutes at 350°F, covering the dish with aluminum foil.
– Heat the pan with the cooking juices and sautéed vegetables, and deglaze with a glass of red wine; let the alcohol evaporate and add a ladle of broth, juniper berries, and ground cinnamon. No need to salt because there is broth; however, check and if necessary, add a pinch of salt.
– The sauce must thicken, so be careful not to leave it too liquid.
– Check the doneness of the meat with a long skewer (if the liquid that comes out is clear, it means it’s cooked), and let it cool first at room temperature, then refrigerate overnight.
– Slice the roast, heat it, and lightly drizzle with the cooking sauce. Optionally, decorate with some chestnuts or prunes.
Advice:
– Refrigerating the roast, regardless of type, ensures that it can be easily sliced the next day without the risk of breaking the slices.
