Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Turkey Breast

Hello and welcome to Sunday Supper! Today I have an easy alternative to cooking a whole turkey for Thanksgiving. Maybe you’ll want to mix things up a bit this year; or maybe you are preparing Thanksgiving for just a few. Either way, this is a simple recipe that yields a flavorful and juicy turkey breast, stuffed with rich ricotta and spinach. The secret is the dry brine! This is an overnight brine, so let’s get to it!

You can think of this as kind of a Turkey Florentine, because we will have a herby, white wine cream sauce to pour over the roasted, stuffed breast. As I mentioned at the top, we will dry brine the breast overnight. So the day before roasting, we can prepare the brine.

Dry Brine

For the dry brine, we have coriander seeds, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, Kosher salt and light brown sugar. This recipe will make more than you’ll need for 1 breast, but you can save the brine in an airtight jar.

Grind the fennel seeds, coriander seeds and peppercorns in a spice grinder to a medium-fine grind. In a medium bowl, mix together the salt and the light brown sugar with your hands until it’s well-mixed and there are no lumps of brown sugar. Then add the ground spices to the sugar and salt. Mix with your hands until well incorporated.

Season the Turkey Breast

I have a boneless, skinless, 2-pound turkey breast. Slice the breast in half horizontally, leaving one end connected to butterfly the breast.

Place the breast on a quarter sheet tray and coat all sides with the dry brine mixture, pat it onto the breast. Cover and put in the fridge overnight, or up to 48 hours.

The Ricotta and Spinach Filling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take the brined breast out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature. Combine the 1 cup of ricotta; the defrosted, drained and squeezed, chopped spinach in a medium bowl.

To the spinach and ricotta, add 1/2 cup grated parmesan, 1 minced shallot, and one teaspoon each: garlic powder, dried oregano, dried thyme and dried basil. Mix well to combine. My breast is on the small side, so I only used about half of the spinach ricotta mixture. (I will save the rest for pizza…stay tuned for that!)

Stuff the Turkey Breast

Start with half of the ricotta mixture and dollop it onto the center of the butterflied breast. If that seems like a good amount to you, pat the ricotta mixture out to cover the center of the breast, leaving about a 1-inch border all around.

Turn the breast so the long side is facing you and tightly roll the breast over the filling, like a jelly roll.

On the last roll, use both hands to grip the stuffed breast, to ensure it’s tightly rolled and leave it seam side-down. Lay 4 or 5 pieces of kitchen twine on the work surface. Carefully place the rolled breast, seam side-down on the centers of each piece of twine. Tie each piece of twine, tightly so it holds everything together, but not too tight. Cut off any extra strands of twine.

Place the stuffed breast on a parchment-lined sheet tray and dot the top with butter. Drizzle with olive oil and place in the oven.

Bake the stuffed breast for 45 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 160 degrees. Let the roasted turkey breast rest for 5-10 minutes. It will carry the cook in that resting time so its internal temperature will rise to 165 degrees.

While the turkey breast is resting. let’s make the sauce.

White Wine Cream Sauce

Begin by melting the butter in a large skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour to make a roux. Let the flour get a little toasty, about 1 minute of stirring then add the white wine. Whisk continuously to dissolve any lumps, bring to a simmer. Add the chicken broth or stock and bring the mixture up to a simmer.

Stir the fresh minced herbs into the sauce and continue to simmer until the mixture has thickened some. Then add the cream and continue to simmer for another few minutes.

When the sauce has thickened to a gravy-like consistency, remove from heat. Taste the sauce and add Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste.

Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Turkey Breast

Cut and remove the kitchen twine from the roasted breast. Slice the Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Turkey Breast cross-wise into 1/2-inch medallions. Serve with cream sauce poured over.

This turkey breast is tender and juicy – which I wholly attribute to the dry brine. The flavors of the fennel and coriander carry though each bite. Ricotta spinach stuffing is rich, yet mildly flavored, so it goes really nicely with the well-seasoned breast meat. And then the cream sauce is a perfect “gravy” bringing it all together.

This is a great way to prepare turkey breast anytime, but it’s especially great if you want to pare down your Thanksgiving Dinner. Stay tuned tomorrow for a carrot side dish that is a perfect compliment to this Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Turkey Breast. Check out the other great sides we have made for Thanksgiving this year, all of them would be a great with this turkey breast. Stuffing Biscuits | Super Easy Potato Galette | Brussels Sprout Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette | Sourdough Focaccia

Thank you all for joining me today, remember you can follow me on Pinterest and Instagram too! Take care and be well, everyone. xo Kelly

Print Recipe

Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Turkey Breast

(No Ratings Yet)

Loading...

Dinner, Main Course – American/Italian

By Kelly Djalali – Serves: 2-4

Prep Time: 30 Minutes, plus an overnight dry brine – Cooking Time: 45 Minutes – Total Time: 24+ Hours

Flavorful, juicy turkey breast, stuffed with ricotta and spinach. It's all about the dry brine! Finished with an herby white wine cream sauce.

Ingredients

• Dry Brine and Turkey
• 1 tbsp. Coriander Seeds
• 1 tbsp. Fennel Seeds
• 1 tbsp. Black Peppercorns
• 1/3 cup Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
• 2 tsp. Light Brown Sugar
• 1 2-lb. Boneless, Skinless Turkey Breast
• For Roasting
• 3 tbsp. Butter
• 3 tbsp. Olive Oil
• Ricotta Spinach Stuffing
• 1 cup Ricotta Cheese
• 1 12-oz. bag of Frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed of excess moisture
• 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan
• 1 Shallot, minced
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp. Dried Oregano
• 1 tsp. Dried Thyme
• 1 tsp. Dried Basil
• White Wine Cream Sauce
• 4 tbsp. Butter
• 6 tbsp. All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Dry White Wine
• 2.5 cups Chicken Broth
• 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. Finely Chopped Fresh Parsley
• 1 tsp. Finely Chopped Fresh Rosemary
• 1 tsp. Finely Chopped Fresh Thyme
• 1/4 cup Heavy Cream
• Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Instructions

Dry Brine

1

Grind the fennel seeds, coriander seeds and peppercorns in a spice grinder to a medium-fine grind. In a medium bowl, mix together the salt and the light brown sugar with your hands until it's well-mixed and there are no lumps of brown sugar. Then add the ground spices to the sugar and salt. Mix with your hands until well incorporated.

2

Slice the breast in half horizontally, leaving one end connected to butterfly the breast.

3

Place the breast on a quarter sheet tray and coat all sides with the dry brine mixture, pat it onto the breast. Cover and put in the fridge overnight, or up to 48 hours.

Ricotta Spinach Stuffed Turkey Breast

4

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

5

Take the brined breast out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature.

6

Combine the 1 cup of ricotta; the defrosted, drained and squeezed chopped spinach in a medium bowl.

7

To the spinach and ricotta, add 1/2 cup grated parmesan, 1 minced shallot, and one teaspoon each: garlic powder, dried oregano, dried thyme and dried basil. Mix well to combine.

8

Start with half of the ricotta mixture and dollop it onto the center of the butterflied breast. If that seems like a good amount to you, pat the ricotta mixture out to cover the center of the breast, leaving about a 1-inch border all around.

9

Turn the breast so the long side is facing you and tightly roll the breast over the filling, like a jelly roll.

10

On the last roll, use both hands to grip the stuffed breast, to ensure it's tightly rolled and leave it seam side-down.

11

Lay 4 or 5 pieces of kitchen twine on the work surface. Carefully place the rolled breast, seam side-down on the centers of each piece of twine. Tie each piece of twine, tightly so it holds everything together, but not too tight. Cut off any extra strands of twine.

12

Place the stuffed breast on a parchment-lined sheet tray and dot the top with butter. Drizzle with olive oil and place in the oven.

13

Bake the stuffed breast for 45 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 160 degrees. Let the roasted turkey breast rest for 5-10 minutes. It will carry the cook in that resting time so its internal temperature will rise to 165 degrees.

White Wine Cream Sauce

14

Begin by melting the butter in a large skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour to make a roux. Let the flour get a little toasty, about 1 minute of stirring then add the white wine. Whisk continuously to dissolve any lumps, bring to a simmer. Add the chicken broth or stock and bring the mixture up to a simmer.

15

Stir the fresh minced herbs into the sauce and continue to simmer until the mixture has thickened some. Then add the cream and continue to simmer for another few minutes.

16

When the sauce has thickened to a gravy-like consistency, remove from heat. Taste the sauce and add Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste.

To Serve

17

Cut and remove the kitchen twine from the roasted breast. Slice the Stuffed Turkey Breast cross-wise into 1/2-inch medallions. Serve with cream sauce poured over.