Ok, who wants to hear anything about turkey for at least another week? I do, I do! Didn’t you just finish all the leftovers from Thanksgiving? Well, to my excuse, I didn’t make turkey on Thanksgiving for just two of us – we would have to eat it for a month!Then I saw all those turkeys on sale and I realized – why don’t I buy turkey, butcher it, save some in freezer and make a little bit at the time? So I did just that.
I have de-boned the turkey (I know it sounds scary, but it wasn’t that bad. All you need is good nerves and sharp knife). Now I have several packages in my freezer. I have divided it to four packages of just turkey breast meat and some bones with wings, when I feel like making a good stock. I was still left with 2 large legs and the entire bone rib cage – with some meat on it. I let that cook with some root vegetables and made a very rich soup. Since both me and my husband love dark meat, I baked the thighs first.
One of the reasons was that I was anxious to try the new seasoning I got from Pelago Valley – and picked the Italian flavors Rosa’s Savory Italian Turkey Seasoning. I loved the aroma as soon as I opened the package. It’s full of rosemary, sage, garlic and who know what else. I didn’t have a need to add anything to it. The preparation of the meat couldn’t be easier – I just dripped a bit of olive oil on each of the turkey’s thighs, rubbed in the seasoning and added about 1/2 cup of water to the pan. That’s all to it! The result was more than delicious!!!
Italian turkey thighs with roasted veggies
Ingredients:
2 turkey thighs
1/4 cup of olive oil
2-3 table spoon of Pelago Rosa’s Savory Italian Turkey Seasoning
1/2 – 1 cup of water
1 zucchini
1 red onion
6 medium sized mushrooms
1/2 eggplant
6 medium red potatoes
Clean your turkey thighs and drizzle with olive oil. Place it in baking dish, put the spices into your palm and rub it on the entire meat. Add water to the baking pan and let bake for about 1,5 – 2 hours (it depends on the size of thighs). Just to give you some estimate,
I baked mine for about 2 hours and it came from 10lb turkey. Nothing compare to the time spent when you bake whole turkey. You can tell by the smell and color of the meat when it’s done. The inside temperature should reach about 180F, if you want to be sure it’s done.
While the turkey was baking, I cleaned my vegetables and cut it into similar size pieces – zucchini into thick slices, mushrooms into halves, eggplant into cubes and onion with potatoes into wedges. Spread it in the large baking dish or a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and use about 2 tablespoon of the Rosa’s Savory Italian Turkey Seasoning again. Mix together and since the oven is already running, stick it in there for about 25 minutes towards the end of turkey baking.
The smell of this dish was incredible. And the taste – I have never had this juicy turkey meat before. It was nothing like Thanksgiving – we didn’t have all the sides, nor the cranberry sauce – I prepared veggies the way I would make them on the grill. But let me tell you, we couldn’t stop eating! And yes, the one thigh was enough for both of us for dinner. My mouth is still watering when I am writing about it.
Super delicious!
Wine pairing suggestion:
I have paired this dish with Austrian Grüner Veltliner from Weingut – Groiss, a young winery from the hills of Wagram. I was glad to discover this wine in my local wine shop – since I loved this variety in Europe. This one is very well made, a lot of fruit on the palate, yet nicely dry and crisp. The best part is that it comes in 1L (which is about 1/3 more wine than regular bottle) for $ 9.99! Don’t think twice if you see this on the shelf. It’s a great wine and it worked with our turkey perfectly!
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