In between carting Zeus to more vet appointments and a bunch of weekends out of town, I was able to try out another new recipe from the box! Huzzah! This was a recipe card that clearly came with a Perdue product – Perdue (Young?) Turkey Breast Marsala. I rarely cook with turkey, so I figured this would make a somewhat challenging yet delicious recipe. If you don’t like mushrooms, I can’t help you because they REALLY make this dish (as any good Italian will inform you).
To start, you slice up a turkey tenderloin, pound out each medallion between two pieces of saran wrap into thin pieces and then saute. It’s amazing how quick a quarter inch thick piece of meat will cook!
Then, you cook up the mushrooms and start making the sauce with some fancy Marsala wine. I’ll be honest, I didn’t get this sauce exactly right. It’s technically a reduction, which means you simmer the liquid for a long time until at least half of it evaporates, aka reduces. The sauce thickens during this process, yielding a nice flavorful consistency without needing to add cream. It takes longer than you’d expect, dependent on how much liquid you start with of course, and requires patience and faith. I had doubled the recipe and thus the sauce because I was going to freeze half of my yield, so I should have waited longer than I did to properly reduce the sauce. But, when it’s almost midnight… you give up some ideals along the way!
Once the sauce is reduced, you throw everything back in the pan to finish cooking and meld the flavors together over low heat. I made some steamed broccoli and long grain wild rice as side dishes.
The Results
The Turkey Marsala was a success! The flavors were even better the next day after the leftovers sat in the fridge in all of the sauce. The next time I try this, I’m still going to double the sauce but try for a more perfect reduction. I’m also going to let everything simmer together in the pan to really try and blend the flavors more before serving.
The Recipes
Because you’ve all been so patient, I’ll throw in another bonus recipe. It was not from the family recipe box, but it is a healthier alternative to brownies that features a secret ingredient: zucchini! Plus, it’s VEGAN. Enjoy! (Original Recipe found here!)
Turkey Breast Marsala
Ingredients – serves 4-5
1 package turkey breast tenderloins
1 flat baby portobellos, sliced
4 TBSP butter, divided
1/2 C Marsala wine
1/4 C water
1/2 C beef broth
salt & pepper
Directions
Slice tenderloin into 1 inch thick medallions. Place a few medallions between the two square sheets of plastic wrap with plenty of room around each. Use the flat side of a meat tenderizer to gently pound out each medallion to about 1/4 inch thickness. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter and add mushrooms. Saute until cooked down, adding salt and pepper to taste. Remove from pan and set aside. Add the remaining 2 TBSP butter to the pan and saute the turkey pieces on each side until cooked through. Remove the turkey and set aside. Add Marsala, water, and broth to skillet and cook, stirring until liquid is reduced to 1/2 C. Return turkey and mushrooms to the pan and cook an additional 5 minutes or so to bring everything up to the same temperature. Serve warm over wild rice.
PROTIP: Instead of a meat tenderizer, you can use a soup can to flatten the tenderloin medallions. Feel free to use additional spices to flavor the dish, such as garlic and onion powder; add these while sauteing the turkey.
VEGAN PROTIP: You can use this sauce in other recipes by using vegetable broth and vegan butter!
Vegan Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies
Ingredients
2 C shredded zucchini, lightly drained of excess moisture
1 1/2 C granulated sugar
1/2 C canola oil
1 C unbleached all-purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 C vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray.
YEAR OF THE MEIER 