Recipe: Dried Apricot & Cherry Stuffed Turkey Breastwith Port Glaze

Serves 4, or 2 with leftovers

Stuffing:

3 tablespoons chopped hazelnuts

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

¼ cup coarsely chopped dried cherries (see Kitchen Note*)

¼ cup coarsely chopped dried apricots

2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Turkey:

1 boneless turkey breast half, skinless or skin-on (about 1-¾ to 2 pounds)

¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided

Freshly ground black pepper

2 slices thick-sliced bacon

Kitchen string

1-½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1-½ cups port wine (see Kitchen Note**)

1. To make stuffing: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put hazelnuts into a ,small dry skillet and toast until lightly browned and fragrant. Remove from pan and set aside.

2. Melt butter in a heavy 12-inch skillet (such as cast iron) over medium heat. Add onion and sauté, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes or until soft and lightly browned. Set aside to cool. Put dried cherries and apricots in a food processor with hazelnuts, parsley, sage, 1/8 teaspoon salt, a few grinds of pepper and cooled onions. Pulse just to finely chop. Transfer to a bowl.

3. To make turkey: Place turkey on a cutting surface table and, with your knife parallel to the work surface, slice open turkey breast horizontally, working from the thicker side to the thinner side, and not cutting all the way through. Open the turkey breast like a book and season with ¼ teaspoon salt and some pepper. Spread stuffing evenly over half of the opened turkey. Fold the other half of the turkey breast over the stuffing, enclosing the stuffing as much as possible. Place the bacon lengthwise on top of the turkey breast and tie breast crosswise with kitchen string in four or five places to hold it together. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

4. In the heavy 12-inch skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Beginning with bacon-side down, sear turkey on both sides until nicely browned, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Put skillet into oven with turkey bacon side-up; roast 20 minutes. Turn bacon side-down and continue roasting an additional 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove turkey from pan and cover with a sheet of aluminum foil.

5. Pour fat from skillet and discard any pieces of stuffing that may have burned. Put skillet on medium-high, add port and bring to a boil, stirring well. Add any juices that have collected around the turkey and continue cooking until a glaze consistency is reached, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Remove string from turkey and carve into ½-inch thick slices. Pour the glaze into a small bowl and pass with the turkey.

Times Kitchen Notes:

* Other dried fruits such as dates, figs or cranberries can replace the cherries.

** Sweet Marsala can replace the port in this recipe.

From "How to Cook a Turkey and All the Other Trimmings," by the Editors and Contributors of Fine Cooking