QUICKIE PEPITORIA FOR TURKEY BREAST

 In this time of rising food prices, I’m always on the lookout for bargains. One of my best value finds is packaged fresh turkey labeled “solomillo,” or “tenderloin, a cut from the breast. It’s cheap, quick to cook and tasty in all kinds of preparations—grilled kebabs, ragout with mushrooms, piccata with lemon and capers. Today I’m cooking it in a quickie pepitoria sauce.

Pepitoria is a classic in Spanish cooking. The traditional recipe calls for gallina, a stewing hen, that is first simmered, then cut up and sauced. The sauce, with obvious Moorish heritage, is made with ground almonds, saffron and other spices and the broth in which the chicken cooked. This is a quickie version using store-bought stock and fast-cooking chunks of turkey. 

Chunks of turkey cook in a saffron sauce thickened with almonds.

A springtime meal, turkey in sauce with fresh peas.

Turkey breast cooks quickly, stays juicy.

Turkey with Pepitoria Sauce

Pavo en Pepitoria

Fresh peas, a touch of spring.

One package of turkey “tenderloin” weighed in at 10 ounces, enough for two servings. If you’re making a larger quantity, just increase the other ingredients. If you use thigh meat instead of breast, allow for a little longer cooking.

Bread, almonds and mashed cooked egg yolk thicken the gravy. Add peas, fava beans or asparagus tips to the sauce for a touch of spring. The turkey and sauce are perfect served with steamed rice. 

Serves 2

10 ounces boneless turkey (thigh or breast)

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Flour for dusting the turkey

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, unpeeled

2 slices baguette

12 almonds

½ cup onion, finely chopped

Pinch of saffron threads

Peppercorns

1 clove

1/3 cup white wine

1 ½ cups chicken broth

1/3 cup fresh peas

1 hard boiled egg

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

Cut the turkey into pieces. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and dust with flour.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy skillet. Add the whole clove of garlic, the bread and the almonds. Fry them, turning, until bread is golden and toasted. Take care not to burn the almonds. Skim them out and reserve.

Add the pieces of turkey to the pan and brown them lightly on all sides. Remove.

Add the onion and sautée on moderate heat until softened, without browning the onions. 

Blend fried almonds, bread with spices and wine.

Meanwhile, crush the saffron, peppercorns and clove in a mortar. Peel the  clove of fried garlic  and place in a  blender with the bread, broken into pieces, the almonds and the crushed spices. Add the wine and let stand a few minutes to allow the bread to soften. Blend to make a smooth paste.

Blanch the peas in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain. (If small peas are used, add them to the sauce at the very end of cooking. If they are large and fairly starchy, let them cook with the turkey.)

Stir the paste from the blender into the pan with the onions. Cook, stirring, until the paste begins to thicken. Add the broth. Stir and cook the sauce 5 minutes. Return the pieces of turkey to the pan with the peas. Cover and cook until the turkey is cooked through, 10 minutes.

Peel the egg. Separate the yolk from the white. Mash the yolk with the parsley. Stir into the sauce in the pan.

Serve the turkey and sauce with the egg white grated on top.

More versions of pepitoria:

Chicken in Almond-Saffron Sauce (Pepitoria).

Meatballs in Almond Sauce.

Monkfish in Almond Sauce (Cazuela).

Wedding Stew with Chicken and Meatballs.

More recipes with turkey (none a whole, stuffed bird):

Turkey Roulade.

Andalusian Turkey Stew.

Turkey Breast with Sour Orange Marinade.

Turkey and Watermelon Salad.

Gazpachuelo Soup with Turkey Meatballs.

Microwave Turkey Breast.