Gathering Around the Table

Once again I searched for recipes for a particular cut of meat, only to end up making up my own recipe. I guess that is par for the course with me.

I had a rough plan for a turkey tenderloin that had been waiting in the freezer. I had prosciutto on hand for another dish, so I pulled that into play. I also had homemade pesto in the freezer, so I think I have the beginnings of a plan. Salt and pepper round out the ingredients for my on-the-fly recipe. Please ignore the white wine and homemade turkey stock as I opted to not use those things in this recipe.

The first step was to carefully cut the turkey tenderloin almost all the way through so that the meat could be opened like a book. This is called butterflying the meat.

The next step was to cover the meat with plastic wrap and then pound it into a uniform thickness.

A thin layer of pesto coated the tenderloin.

Then the buttery slices of prosciutto covered that.

My daughter was nice enough to pick up the camera so you could see the rolling process. I used the plastic wrap to help roll the meat.

I worked away from me in order to get a tight roll.

A bit of salt and pepper were sprinkled on the outside of the roll. The roulade was sealed in the plastic and put in the refrigerator for a few hours. This will help the roll keep its shape when cooked.

The roulade went into a hot pan and was allowed to sear. After the sides were nicely browned, the pan was placed into the oven so that the meat could finish cooking. A meat thermometer confirmed that the internal temperature had reached 155 degrees.

After resting, the roulade was sliced.

Marinara sauce added a nice component to the pesto and prosciutto. I think I have a winner here.

Roasted green beans with shallots and bacon and homemade mashed potatoes round out the dinner. See, I really do make homemade mashed potatoes; it's just that my daughter likes store-bought mashed potatoes better. Guess I need to get a potato ricer so that my mashed potatoes won't be lumpy.

Now, if you recall, I had the prosciutto on hand for something else. This was that something else...

Cantaloupe and prosciutto. The sweet melon combined with the buttery, salty prosciutto was just sublime. What a nice way to round out this Italian-inspired dinner.