Fesa alle Mandorle - Turkey Breast with Almonds

I've been craving turkey a lot lately. Not sure if it's the Christmas leftover shortage I experienced this year or a greater need for protein with all the working out I've been doing... But anyway, it's been well over a month now that I'm just craving turkey. So I skimmed through the turkey section of SS and sadly nixed the oh-so-enticing Turkey Stuffed with Brussels Sprouts (ooh!) and the Turkey Stuffed with Chestnuts (aah!) and selected the clearly much more low key Turkey Breast with Almonds. (Side note: most full turkey recipes in SS call for a 6 1/2 pound turkey - do turkeys even come that small in the US?! I swear, I've never seen smaller than a 10-pounder).

This recipe won because the ingredient list (minus the turkey breast) was all included in my CSA box that week or already in my pantry and it took around a half hour till eating time. And while it turned out tasty (and somewhat satisfied my turkey needs), it was definitely a stranger recipe and didn't look all that photo (please note the evidence above, not entirely blamed on my sad old camera and lack of photography skills).

The recipe wasn't too complicated: I melted some butter in a deep pan and cooked a chopped onion, a chopped carrot and a chopped celery stalk for around five minutes over low heat. I then placed two turkey breast steaks on top of the vegetables and cooked until it started to colour. The recipe said to cook it until browned, but the steaks didn't ever quite turn brown. I wonder if the low heat was to blame for that?

I seasoned the lot with salt and pepper then turned up the heat to medium, added five tablespoons of white wine and cooked it till it evaporated. I then covered the pot and let it cook over low heat for another ten minutes. Here's where it gets interesting: while the turkey was cooking, I took a half cup of blanched almonds and simmered them with 3/4 cup of milk and a tablespoon of brandy for about 15 minutes then transferred this mixture to the food processor and attempted to purée it. I say attempted because the texture was more mealy than purée like. It's possible the almonds needed to cook longer, but since I only had time as a reference point (and not texture), I don't know for sure if this was the correct texture.

Lastly, I poured the almond sauce over the turkey and let it simmer for a few minutes before serving. The taste was very good, but the presentation and the texture were a bit less than appealing, so it makes it hard to judge the recipe. I might have to try to make the almond sauce again and see if I can come up with a better visual/texture result. Though I don't, those other turkey recipes are sounding awfully tempting now.


Tasty Factor: C+ Ease of Preparation: B- (fair amount of chopping and use of food processor) Modifications: No. Though it seems I should have... I just don't know what would have helped.