GRILLED BONELESS TURKEY BREAST MARINATED WITH SUN-DRIED TOMATO PURÉE

SERVES 4

I saw an advertisement in a gourmet foods catalog for a marinated turkey breast using sun-dried tomatoes and herbs. It sounded good so I decided to create my own. It is absolutely delicious. The recipe calls for sun-dried tomatoes, but I used my own that were dried in a dehydrator. Even though the turkey takes at least several hours from start to finish becasue of the marination process, hands on preparation is easy and minimal.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup boiling water

3 large cloves garlic, peeled

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dry rubbed sage

1-1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon dried basil

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

1 boneless turkey breast half, about 2-1/4 pounds (skin on or removed, as desired)

Place tomatoes in a medium bowl. Add the boiling water. Let set until softened, about 30 minutes. Place in a blender or processor with the garlic, thyme, rosemary, fennel seeds, basil, salt and pepper. Process until relatively smooth. Slowly add the olive oil to emulsify. Place the turkey breast in a shallow dish just large enough to hold it. Pour the tomato purée over it and turn to cover both sides. (You can use a large plastic bag. Place turkey and purée in the bag, seal and turn several times to mix all together.) Cover the dish and refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Heat covered grill on medium-low heat. Remove turkey from dish and brush off excess marinade. Grill turkey until done, about 40 minutes, depending on thickness (see notes below). Turn every 10 minutes and baste with the tomato purée. Let rest, covered loosely, for 15 minutes before carving and serving.

Notes: If your turkey breast is very thick, you might want to pound it slightly thinner. Otherwise, increase the amount of time needed to cook. The internal temperature of poultry should be 180° F. However, when any cooked food rests, there is carryover cooking time, meaning it continues to cook from its own heat to the desired doneness. I removed my turkey breast from the grill when an instant read thermometer registered 165°, covered it with foil and, after the 15 minutes resting time, it was completely cooked and very moist. The breast could be cooked on an indoor grill over low heat or seared in a pan and placed in a 350° oven for about 1 hour.

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