food & dining
KERI WHITE | SPECIAL TO THE JE
Turkey Dinner
T his
is not
your Thanksgiving turkey feast,
but it could certainly work
for a smaller High Holidays meal.

This boneless roast is a smaller,
simpler, more user-friendly ver-
sion. Sure, it lacks the visual “wow”
factor of the jumbo bird, but it
cooks in about an hour, which is
a lovely feature from the cook’s
perspective. In addition, many of
us are gathering in smaller groups
these days, and this menu suits
that trend well.

If you are still getting together
in large crowds and want the
briefer spell in the oven, simply
buy a few of these and enjoy host-
ing in relative leisure.

Oven-Roasted Sweet
Potatoes Serves 4
Boneless Turkey Roast
Serves 4
Photo by Keri White
Brining is a flavor-infusing hack
that delivers a tasty result.

Turkey has a reputation for dry-
ing out, but brining protects
against that unfortunate out-
come. Covering it while cooking and
placing the roast atop a flavorful
mirepoix (a fancy term for the
carrot/onion/celery mixture lin-
ing the roasting pan) helps keep
it juicy.

Some might balk at the lack of
bones, as that leaves nothing to
make soup from tomorrow. But if
you save the skin, the drippings and
mirepoix, you can make a reason-
ably good broth with the pan resi-
due. No, it’s not the same as a bone
broth simmered overnight, but it’s
a decent substitute given the ease
with which you create it.

For the brine:
6 cups cold water
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon rosemary
For the mirepoix:
1 stalk celery, chopped
oven for about an hour. (If you
do not have a covered roasting
pan, cover the turkey tightly with
foil.) The meat should reach 165
degrees when it is done.

Let the roast rest for 10 min-
utes, covered, before carving.

Drizzle it with pan drippings, and
serve. 2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
For the roast:
1 skin-on boneless turkey roast,
about 2.5 pounds
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon each salt, pepper,
thyme, rosemary, garlic powder
Optional: 2 slices turkey bacon
In a large zip-seal bag, mix the
brine ingredients, and place the tur-
key carefully in the bag. Seal and
refrigerate for 2-24 hours. Two hours
before you intend to serve, remove
the turkey from the brine, rinse and
pat it dry.

Heat your oven to 375 degrees F.

In a roasting pan with a cover,
place the mirepoix ingredients and
toss well.

Prepare the roast: Mix the season-
ings in a small bowl. Coat the roast
with oil and honey, and then sprin-
kle it with the spice mixture. Place
the seasoned roast on top of the
mirepoix mixture. If using, place the
turkey bacon slices over the roast.

Cover and place the turkey in the
There are two equally legitimate
schools of thought on these
sweet potatoes.

One advocates roasting them
right in the pan with the tur-
key, atop the mirepoix, to glean
all the flavorings and drippings
swirling around during the roast-
ing process. This provides a
lovely blend of similar flavors
that pervades the meal and
results in soft sweet potatoes
due to the steam coming out of
the vegetables and the fact that
they are roasted in a covered
pan, which traps the moisture.

The other prefers to cook the
potatoes in a separate pan to
avoid a uniform flavor palate,
and seeks a crispier texture.

If you are in the former camp
(which has the bonus of only
dirtying one pan), you can sim-
ply toss the peeled chopped
potatoes in the pan with the
turkey, and they will cook along-
side the bird. If you are in the latter
camp, follow the directions below.

4 sweet potatoes, peeled and
chopped into bite-sized pieces
(I used assorted purple and white
sweet potatoes, but any type
will do.)
1 tablespoon oil
Sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste
Line a rimmed baking tray with
parchment. Toss the sweet potatoes
with oil, salt and pepper.

Roast alongside the turkey for
about 45-60 minutes, until the
desired level of brown crunchiness
is achieved. JE
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