Stuffed turkey roulade recipe (with chestnut & plum stuffing)

This stuffed turkey roulade recipe has a chestnut and plum filling and gets wrapped with prosciutto (or bacon) for a perfect festive dinner!

This juicy stuffed turkey breast roulade is the main course of the Christmas menu I am posting on the blog! It has the best chestnut and plum filling and - because we want it to be extra festive - it gets wrapped with prosciutto or bacon. Previously, I posted these pumpkin and olive oil dinner rolls, and after this I will be posting a chocolate and hazelnut mousse loaf cake, followed by a side dish and a salad (I wonder what will those be!). Of course, this doesn’t mean you should make this turkey roulade only for Christmas, but in fact, you should consider it for any special occasion since all the ingredients like the prosciutto, the chestnuts, the dried fruits, and the spices have a celebratory character (don’t you think?) 🙂 In my parents’ home, almost every Christmas, we enjoy a similar dish, this whole stuffed chicken with rice and chestnuts so I just have to suggest it as a nice alternative... (Both recipes are gluten-free!)

I know that making your own roulade may sound intimidating, especially if you’ve never done it before BUT it’s not as hard as it seems! You just have to take it one step at a time and remember that everything doesn’t have to be perfect! After all, it’s going to be wrapped with prosciutto, so any imperfections will be hidden... So, give this turkey your most fierce look and don’t stress out. You’ve got this 🙂

Probably the best thing about this turkey breast roulade with chestnut and plum stuffing is that the center of the roulade (meaning the stuffing) is already cooked in a saucepan. What that means is that the meat cooks more evenly and in less time because you don’t have to wait for the center part to reach the desired temperature - with the risk of overcooking the outer part. As a result, you end up with a juicy, tender meat and a flavorful and aromatic stuffing. In Greece, when we cook meat in the oven we always throw some potato wedges into the pan, so doing it with this recipe only seemed natural. Here I used some russet potatoes and some white sweet potatoes (I believe they’re also called O’Henry sweet potatoes).

Some notes/tips:

• Don’t overcook the roulade! Though salting it sometime before baking helps the meat stay juicy and tender, if you cook it for too long it will dry out (and remember: the center is already cooked!).
• If you use an oven thermometer make sure that the edge doesn’t go all the way through the center (you don’t want it to reach the stuffing).
• If you can’t find prosciutto, you can use bacon instead. Because prosciutto strips are wider, you’ll probably need about twice the quantity of bacon.
• Substitute dried apricots, figs or raisins for plums (though plums go very well with this recipe!)
• Use the same saucepan to cook the stuffing and make the gravy (less clean up).
• If you don’t feel like making the gravy, serve this roulade with a heaped teaspoon of peach or cranberry jam/jelly
• This recipe is naturally gluten-free

Similar recipes:

Greek meatloaf with hard boiled eggs
Mediterranean minced meat pie with phyllo (kimadopita)

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I tried to take some photos of how to butterfly a turkey breast. Hope you find them useful!

📖 Recipe

Stuffed turkey roulade recipe (with chestnut & plum stuffing)

Makos

This juicy stuffed turkey roulade recipe has a chestnut and plum filling and gets wrapped with prosciutto (or bacon) for a perfect festive dinner!

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, gluten-free, Mediterranean

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ For the turkey roulade:
• ▢ 1 half turkey breast, boneless and skinless (about 2.5 pounds)
• ▢ Salt and pepper to taste
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ About 1 cup chopped chestnuts, cooked/roasted and peeled
• ▢ 8-10 dried plums, chopped
• ▢ ½ onion, finely chopped
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon allspice
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ ¼ cup dry white wine
• ▢ 10 prosciutto strips ((or 12 bacon strips))
• ▢ Some extra olive oil for the roulade
• ▢ Baking paper
• ▢ Kitchen twine
• ▢
  
• ▢ For the potatoes:
• ▢ 2-3 medium potatoes, like russet, peeled and cut into wedges
• ▢ 2 white sweet potatoes, like O’Henry, peeled and cut into wedges
• ▢ ¼ cup olive oil
• ▢ ¼ cup water
• ▢ Salt and pepper to taste
• ▢ 2-3 teaspoons dried oregano
• ▢
  
• ▢ For the gravy:
• ▢ The juices from the pan
• ▢ ¼ cup dry white wine
• ▢ ¼ cup cup jam, peach or cranberry is very nice
• ▢ 2-3 tablespoons cold butter
• ▢ A pinch of salt if needed

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Instructions

 

• Remove any connective tissue from the turkey breast, butterfly it, and flatten it out evenly using a mallet or another heavy object like a rolling pin (if you have any scraps chop them and use them in the stuffing). You can also ask your butcher to do this for you.

  Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper and let it covered at room temperature until you make the stuffing.
  
• Set a large saucepan over medium/high heat and sauté any chopped scraps from the breast with olive oil. Add the onion, cinnamon, allspice, bay leaf, a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until onion is soft and translucent (about 4-5 minutes).

  Add the chestnuts and plums, stir for 30 seconds and then add the wine. Cook until the wine evaporates, discard the bay leaf, and set aside to cool.
  
• Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
• Place a large piece of baking paper on your working surface.

  Make a row of 5 strips of prosciutto on the baking paper making sure that they overlap a little. Make another row with the other 5 strips below the first one making sure that there are no gaps between the prosciutto strips.
  
• Place the butterflied turkey breast in the middle of the prosciutto surface, forming a rectangle.

  Transfer the stuffing in the middle of the rectangle and with the help of the baking paper roll the meat into a roulade.

  Without removing the baking paper, wrap with the kitchen twine to secure it. Transfer to a deep baking pan.
• In a large bowl, mix the potatoes with the olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Transfer to the pan with the roulade and add the water.

  Bake for about 40 minutes (15 minutes per pound) or until a thermometer inserted in the meat (not in the center!) registers 165°F (74°C).

  Remove the roulade from the oven and continue baking the potatoes until done (about 20 more minutes).
• When the potatoes are done transfer them to a plate and strain all the pan juices into the saucepan (if all the juices from the pan have evaporated, add a quarter of a cup water and stir with a spatula).
• Unwrap the roulade and return it to the pan. Brush with some extra olive oil and broil from each side until browned. Transfer to the plate.
• For the gravy: Heat the saucepan over high heat until it starts to simmer, then add the wine and cook for 2-3 minutes.

  Add the jam, stir to combine, and then add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Remove from heat, taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Transfer to a small bowl or saucer and serve with the roulade.
  
• Eat!

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