Martina asked for the recipes of what we had for Christmas dinner. There were some old favorites and some relatively new things. This was the main entree.
Serves 4
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (evoo)
8 crimini (baby portobello) mushrooms, chopped
8 shiitake mushrooms, chopped (I used dried and saved the liquid from re-hydrating to use in the gravy - you could also use it in the potatoes)
1 shallot, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 & 1/3 pounds ground turkey (1 package)
3 or 4 sprigs fresh sage, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup italian bread crumbs (I used plain)
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups chicken or turkey broth
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (i skipped this)
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons evoo (twice around the pan). Add chopped mushrooms and shallots and season with salt and pepper. Sauté mushrooms, 5 or 6 minutes, until dark and tender. Remove from heat. Transfer mushrooms to a bowl and return pan to stovetop to preheat to cook patties.
Place turkey in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of meat. Add sage, Worcestershire, bread crumbs, and beaten egg. Scrape sauteed mushrooms and shallots into the bowl. Add salt and pepper. Mix together and make a small, 1-inch patty. Place patty in the hot pan and cook 1 minute on each side. Taste for seasonings and adjust seasonings in meatloaf mixture accordingly. Divide meatloaf mixture into 4 equal parts by scoring the meat before you form patties. Form into oval patties, 1 inch thick. Add 1 tablespoon evoo to the pan, and arrange patties in the pan. Cook 6 minutes on each side and transfer to a serving plate or individual dinner plates. Return pan to heat and add butter. When butter has melted, whisk in flour and cook a minute or two. Whisk in broth and season gravy with poultry seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. thicken gravy to your liking and pour over patties, reserving a little to pass at the table.
Editorial Comments on the Recipe.
This was from the Rachel Ray 30-Minute Meals get togethers book. More than a lot of the 30-minute meal recipes this one really pushed the envelope of what you can do in 30 minutes. Keep in mind that how it is written, while these are cooking you are also making herbed mashed potatoes and green beans with lemon and toasted almonds. I think if everything is cut up and all the prep is good - you have all of your utensils and plates and mysterious cooking implements at the ready you MIGHT be able to do this in 30 minutes. That being said, if you allow a little longer it is Well Worth It.
I have made this one other time and I did not chop the mushrooms as small as I did at Christmas. The patties did not hang together as well, but the larger mushrooms made for some nice texture contrasts. Also I would probably recommend putting the patties into a warm oven while finishing the gravy to keep everything nice and warm.
