ROAST TURKEY BREAST WITH POTATOES AND ROSEMARY

Turkey breasts make great roasts. You can use turkey breast with skin and bones or a boneless roast. They’re easy to carve, their cooking time is not much longer than a chicken’s, and their meat is white and lean. If you like, you can turn the juices into a white wine sauce. To thicken the gravy, use potato starch rather than cornstarch or flour.

If you want to keep this entree low in fat, serve the meat without its skin. Season the meat under the skin with thyme and rosemary but leave the skin on during roasting so that it will keep the meat moist.

A 1.8-kg turkey breast half
3 to 4 Tbsp. olive oil
11/4 tsp. dried leaf thyme salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup chicken broth (for basting)
1.5 kg medium-sized potatoes
4 fresh rosemary sprigs
SAUCE (optional):
11/3 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup dry white wine
2 Tbsp. potato starch dissolved in 4 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 200°. Put turkey breast in a roasting pan. Loosen turkey skin. Mix 11/2 to 2 Tbsp. oil with thyme and pepper and rub the mixture over turkey meat, under skin. (If your roast comes without skin, simply rub it over the roast.) Slip a few pieces of rosemary under the skin. Put remaining rosemary in pan under turkey.

Halve potatoes; you don’t need to peel them. Put potatoes around turkey and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and remaining oil. Stir to coat potatoes with oil.

Roast turkey uncovered 15 minutes. Add 2/3 cup chicken broth to pan. Reduce oven temperature to 175°. Cover turkey and roast it 30 more minutes.

Turn potatoes over; baste turkey and potatoes with pan juices. Continue roasting about 45 to 60 more minutes or until a meat thermometer or instant-read thermometer inserted in thick part of meat (not touching bone) registers 77°. If potatoes are not yet tender, remove turkey and roast them a few minutes.

Remove turkey and potatoes to a board. Cover turkey.

To make a sauce: Skim fat from pan juices if you like. Add wine to pan and bring to a simmer, scraping browned juices into wine. Pour liquid into a saucepan. Add remaining chicken broth. Simmer 2 or 3 minutes. Stir potato starch mixture and whisk into simmering broth.

Simmer 1 to 2 minutes until thickened. Stir in chopped parsley. Add juices from turkey board. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning.

Remove turkey skin. Cut turkey in thin slices, serve with potatoes, and garnish with fresh rosemary. Pass sauce separately. Makes 6 servings.