BRAISED TURKEY BREAST RECIPES

Steps:

• Rinse turkey breast, pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Peel and chop garlic and onions.
• Halve bell pepper, remove seeds, rinse and dry. Cut pepper into thin strips.
• Rinse and dry eggplant and zucchini and cut into thin slices.
• Plunge tomatoes into a pot of boiling water, remove, rinse in cold water and remove the skins.
• Cut the lemon in half and squeeze out the juice.
• Rinse thyme, shake dry and pluck the leaves.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a non-stick pan. Brown turkey breast on all sides over medium heat, then remove and set aside on a plate.
• Add the remaining oil to the pan. Sauté onions and garlic until translucent. Add pepper, eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes and sauté for about 2 minutes while stirring.
• Add thyme and lemon juice to vegetables and cook over medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a small braiser (or Dutch oven). 
• Place turkey breast on vegetables, cover, and braise in a preheated oven at 400°F for about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, rinse the tarragon, shake dry, pluck leaves and chop. Sprinkle braised turkey and vegetables with tarragon and serve. 

Steps:

• Put the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the turkey and brown the leg (and, if you’re using them, wing) portions on the skin side well, 10 minutes or more; turn and cook for another 2 minutes on the skinless side. Remove to a plate and brown the breasts in the same skillet, again mostly on the skin side; remove and keep them separate.
• Heat the oven to 300, and cook the bacon or pancetta (if using) in the remaining fat in the skillet until nearly crisp; remove with a slotted spoon. Cook the onions, mushrooms, carrots, celery and herbs, in batches if necessary, until beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer with the bacon or pancetta to a large roasting pan, then nestle the dark meat in there, leaving room for the breasts. Add stock or water to come about one-third to halfway up the sides of the thighs.
• Roast uncovered for about 90 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure liquid levels remain sufficiently high and stirring vegetables if they threaten to brown too much. When thigh meat is tender, place the breasts in the pan, and cook until tender, 30 to 45 minutes more, or until done. (They should register 155 on an instant-read thermometer.)
• Slice breast and thigh meat and serve on a platter with the vegetables garnished, if you like, with parsley.