Roast Turkey Shanks

It's been a busy week in the eat quaff laugh household and I haven't had much chance to sit down at the computer and write. With my parents over and school holidays in full swing, there has been plenty of baking, eating and drinking going on, but no time to blog.

Yesterday I came across some turkey shanks at the supermarket and knew that I just had to create something delicious with them. The fact that the weather had turned cold again made it almost irresistible to slow roast them. I love turkey, but generally only eat it at Christmas. I've certainly never had turkey shanks before, so was intrigued as to how they would turn out. I needn't have worried, as they were delicious.

After slow roasting, like lamb shanks, for 2 hours, the meat was tender and falling off the bone. Being the dark meat of the thigh, it had a stronger flavour than you would normally expect from turkey breast. I didn't want to overwhelm the flavour of the turkey, so I simply cooked it in onion, garlic and chicken stock. Now that I know that the shanks have a stronger flavour, I might try a tomato and wine based sauce next time.

I served my shanks with some lovely steamed asparagus and roasted cauliflower 'steak' topped with a panko crumb and sesame crumble. I had some left over sweet potato and cashew dip in the fridge that I spread on top too, but you could equally use pesto or just grated cheese and bread crumbs.

I was really impressed with the turkey and will definitely cook it again. The slow cooked meat would be lovely shredded and tossed through a salad, pasta or risotto. For a winter comfort dish, serve with creamy mash or polenta. Yum! The Steggles website has a number of recipes for different cuts of turkey, that sound great too.

Slow Roasted Turkey Shanks With Cauliflower Steak

2 turkey shanks

1 onion, cut into quarters and thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 cups of chicken stock

1/2 a cauliflower (you won't need all of it)

1/4 cup pesto or dip

1 Tbs panko crumbs or regular bread crumbs

1 tsp sesame seeds

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Steamed asparagus, or other green vegetable, to serve

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.

Heat a drizzle of oil in a fry pan over medium heat until hot. 

Add the turkey shanks and brown on all sides.  Season to taste.

Remove the shanks to an oven proof casserole dish with a lid.

Add the onion and garlic to the hot pan and gently fry until it begins to soften but doesn't brown.

Add the onion mixture to the shanks and then pour over the chicken stock.

Place in the oven and cook for about 2 hours, or until the meat starts to pull away from the bone.

Every half hour, turn the shanks so that the other side is in the stock, keeping the meat moist and helping it to cook evenly.

For the cauliflower, cut the piece in half and then cut a 2cm thick slice from each centre piece, to make two 'steaks'.

Place on a baking tray and drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cauliflower starts to soften.

Remove from the oven, spread with dip or pesto and sprinkle with sesame seeds and panko crumbs. 

Drizzle with a little more oil and return to the oven for another 10 minutes, or until the cauliflower is cooked through and the crumbs have browned.

To serve, place one shank, one cauliflower steak and a bundle of asparagus spears on each plate. Spoon over some of the turkey cooking sauce and onion.

Enjoy!

And To Drink....

We picked up this bottle of 2006 Charles Melton Voices of Angels Shiraz when we were in the Barossa Valley about 5 years ago. It probably wasn't the best match to have with the turkey shanks, but it certainly was a delicious wine. Having a bit of age on it, the tannins had softened and it had become a beautifully complex wine with some oaky spiciness, but still with plum and red berry characteristics. I could quite easily have drunk this wine without having any food with it at all!

My husband felt like a nicer red wine with dinner, and being a Shiraz fan, this was his selection. The turkey was really quite meaty and being dark meat, rather than white breast meat, it had a stronger flavour than I would have expected. A white wine, even an aged Chardonnoy, wouldn't have quite worked either. I think probably a Grenache or even a Merlot, with lots of fruit flavours, but without much tannin, would have been better.

Even though this Shiraz wasn't the perfect match, it did still have characteristics that were lovely with the meal. If I had cooked the turkey with tomatoes and red wine, it would have been wonderful!

Turkey And Salsa

This week has been such a hot week in Melbourne, that I just haven't had the energy to write about what we've been eating. After 4 consecutive days above 40 degrees, and with no air conditioning at home, my brain was just fried!

Just because I didn't have the energy to write about food, doesn't mean that I wasn't thinking about what to eat and making some delicious meals.

When you're going through a heat wave, you tend to want simple food that has lots of flavour and doesn't take long to prepare. You also don't want anything that uses the oven or stove too much. There's plenty of heat around without adding to it unnecessarily! 

Salads are great when it's hot, but the same old thing can get boring if you have it night after night. This week I have tried to keep the meals generally cold, with a hot protein element to keep up our energy.

Last night we had some beautiful turkey steaks with an Asian inspired nectarine salsa for freshness. Turkey is a meat that I don't really tend to eat all that much. At Christmas time it comes out in many a meal, but I seem to forget it during the rest of the year. When I saw the steaks on special this week, I thought I'd give them a go. They took only a few minutes to cook in a frypan and were so moist and juicy, that I was really impressed. Because turkey is so lean, it does tend to dry out and can be unpleasant. These steaks came from the breast, so were pure meat, but not dry at all. I'll definitely look out for them again. I simply seasoned mine with salt, pepper and a sprinkling of lemon myrtle flakes. Delicious!

The salsa was my variation of one I came across in a Coles Supermarket magazine. I added a few extra bits and pieces that were in the fridge to give it a bit more zing. The sweet nectarine matched wonderfully with the lime, chilli, coriander and thai basil. White or yellow peaches would also work well. Combined with the sweetness of the turkey, it was the perfect hot weather meal. The salsa would also match with chicken, pork or a white fleshed fish.

To complete the dish, I made a very simple salad of crispy cos lettuce leaves dressed with a beautiful Rich Glen Estate Blood Orange and Fig Poppyseed Dressing. The dressing was divine and complemented the lime in the salsa perfectly.

Turkey Steaks With Nectarine Salsa

2 turkey breast steaks

A drizzle of olive oil

Salt, pepper and lemon myrtle flakes to taste

1 white nectarine, diced

1 yellow nectarine, diced

2 spring onions, thinly sliced

1 lime, finely zested and juiced

A handful of coriander and thai basil leaves, chopped

1 small red chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped

A handful of baby cos leaves, torn

A drizzle of your favourite salad dressing

Season turkey steaks on both sides with salt, pepper and lemon myrtle flakes.

Heat a drizzle of oil in a frypan until hot. Cook steaks for about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden and the meat is cooked all the way through.

Set aside in a warm place to rest.

While the meat is cooking, prepare the salsa and the salad.

In a small bowl, combine white and yellow nectarines, spring onion, chilli, coriander, thai basil and lime zest. Stir to combine. 

Pour over lime juice and gently stir. Set aside for the flavours to develop.

Place cos leaves on a serving platter and drizzle with salad dressing.

To serve, place turkey steaks on plates and spoon a generous amount of the salsa on top. Place some of the lettuce salad to the side.

And To Drink...

There have been lots of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks had this week in an effort to cool down. Plenty of combinations of soda, juice, cordials and spirits, with lots and lots of ice!

To finish the week, we decided to have a crisp and refreshing white wine. This wine by Henschke in South Australia was another one of the wines from The Fabulous Ladies Wine Society wine club. I had bought this one to drink in December, but we had so much going on in the lead up to Christmas and New Year's Eve, that we didn't have time to drink it. There was no better time than to pop it in the fridge when the inside of the house was 35 degrees!

Tilly's Vineyard is a blend of semillon, sauvignon blanc, pinot gris, riesling and chardonnay, grown in the Adelaide Hills and Eden Valley. As a blend it had a wonderful balance of citrus and acidity with a touch of peach. These flavours made it a perfect match with the salsa, which also had the stone fruit and lime combination. A crisp, dry white complemented the turkey perfectly and went down a treat on a really hot night. I may have added a couple of ice cubes to my glass in an attempt to cool down!

As a good quality quaffer to have on a hot night or take on a picnic, the Henschke Tilly's Vineyard was perfect. 

Footy and Sausage Rolls

Being Grand Final day in Melbourne tomorrow, nothing is better to eat than pies and sausage rolls. I didn't have the energy to make a batch of pies this year, but did manage to whip up some sausage rolls to have during the game.

Sometimes sausage rolls can be a bit stodgy and heavy, so I like to play around with flavours and fillings and not use breadcrumbs, which just tend to make them really dense.

Today I decided to do something different and try turkey and apple. Turkey is a lovely lean meat, but can tend to dry out if you don't put something moist with it. Grated apple and a little onion give moisture to the meat, but also some sweetness. A final seasoning with salt and pepper and some fresh oregano, and there you have it. Easy footy sausage rolls. Served with good old tomato sauce or sweet chilli, they will go down a treat with a couple of beers on game day!

If you have the time and inclination, by all means make your own pastry. But for something quick and easy to throw together, then just use frozen puff pastry sheets.

Turkey and Apple Sausage Rolls

3 sheets of puff pastry, thawed
500g turkey mince
1 apple, cored and grated
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
A handful of fresh oregano, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients, except pastry. Season to taste.
Cut pastry sheets in half, then into 5 strips, to get 10 pieces of pastry. If you like them larger, cut to your desired size.

Put a good few teaspoonfuls of filling on each piece of pastry.
Brush a small amount of milk on the edge of pastry and roll up, like a sausage roll!
Place on a baking tray and brush with extra milk to help with browning.
Bake in the oven until pastry is golden, approx 15 to 20 mins.
Enjoy hot with tomato or sweet chilli sauce.