Barbecued turkey breast with cranberry orange sauce and couscous

Have you already started planning and shopping for next week? I cannot believe how fast November is slipping away…and also how cold it is these days 🙁 Really looking forward to warmer days, it is way too early for me:) Getting back to Thanksgiving and all those delicious dishes you are planning to make. What happens if you don’t have a lot of time to prepare and roast a whole turkey, make side dishes and desserts that will require way too much time and effort but you still want to impress your family and guests with an amazing, homemade Thanksgiving dinner  (you should check some of these Southern Thanksgiving recipes too)?  I have the perfect menu for you: Barbecued turkey breast with cranberry orange sauce and mushroom couscous. It is easy to make, ready in less than 1 hour (comparing to roasting a whole bird 🙂 ) homemade, fancy looking and will not cost you a fortune.

Yes, you heard it right! ….quick to make it. Less than 1 hour, including preparing and marinating the turkey breast, grilling it, making the mushroom couscous and the cranberry orange sauce too. It is possible! And there is one more thing…this Barbecued turkey breast is hands down the best turkey breast I had in ages…juicy, moist, just melting in my mouth. You have to agree with me, there is nothing better than a juicy turkey breast 🙂

First, you need to combine olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, water, garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper in a medium bowl and add your turkey breasts, allowing them to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes. You can always do this step a night before, if preferred,  and et them stay overnight. The minimum time required to achieve that juicy, moist turkey breast meat is 30 minutes. There is no problem if you leave them for longer. I would say the better 🙂 You remove them from the fridge when ready to grill them.

The cranberry orange sauce is really easy to make it too. All you need is some cranberry sauce and 2 oranges. 10 minutes later your sauce is ready to be served.

Here you have a relaxed, laid back, my Australian kinda of Thanksgiving dinner! Well, we barbecue pretty much everything we can 🙂 You don’t have to wake up early, spend all your day in the kitchen and you can still serve a delicious homemade dinner and enjoy this day!

Yield: 8 servings

Barbecued turkey breast with cranberry orange sauce and couscous

Print

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• ¼ cup olive oil
• zest of 1 lemon
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp rosemary, finely chopped, plus extra sprigs, to serve
• salt and pepper
• 8 medium fresh turkey breast fillets
• 1 can Cranberry Sauce
• 2 oranges, peeled, white pith removed
• 1/2 cup pistachio kernels, toasted, roughly chopped
• 2 cups and 1/4 couscous
• 4 cups boiling water
• 6 cups sliced mushrooms
• spring onions

Instructions

1. Combine lemon zest and juice, oil, water, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper in a glass bowl or sealable plastic bag. Add turkey breasts and turn to coat. Cover and chill for 30 mins. Meanwhile, holding each orange over a bowl, cut either side of the membrane to release segments and reserve. Squeeze remaining juice into bowl. Stir cranberry sauce and orange juice in a saucepan over low heat for 3 mins or until combined. Add reserved segments and heat for 1 min or until warmed.
2. While the meat is marinating, start making the mushroom couscous too. Put the sliced mushrooms in a medium pan and sauté them for 10 minutes. Place the couscous in a large bowl, pour over 4 cups of boiling water stir to mix, then cover. Leave to stand for 7 mins or until softened.
3. Preheat a barbecue grill or chargrill pan on medium heat. Spray with oil. Drain turkey from marinade and cook on grill for 4-6 mins on each side or until cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil. Rest for 10 mins. Thickly slice and sprinkle some chopped pistachios.
4. To serve the couscous , fluff it up with a fork, stir in the chopped spring onions and top with the sautéed mushroom mixture.
5. Arrange turkey on a platter with rosemary sprigs, with mushroom couscous and serve with cranberry orange sauce.
6. Enjoy!

Notes

Barbecued turkey breast with cranberry orange sauce was adapted from Coles Magazine, December 2013

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g