Torkil Johnsen

I would normally not write about mashed potatoes, but I just had a really nice meal and I just have to write down this stuff before it is lost. It takes little time to prepare and tastes… well… extremely nice.

Turkey breast:
A 150 g turkey pr person is fine. Turkey breast has about zero fat, so add more with a good concience! Chicken breast will do the trick too of course, but turkey is better in my opinion.
To make up for the lack of fat in the turkey, use (a lot of) butter for the frying ;)
Some salt and some lemon pepper seasoning.

Mashed potatoes:
1 kg potatoes, should be enough for four people.
2-3 dl milk. Use cream instead of half the milk for an even nicer mash. Yum!
4-5 whole garlic cloves, or more if you want :)
0,5 teaspoon ground nutmeg
0,5 teaspoon dry mustard. I used dijon mustard though, and it worked like a charm.
50-70 g butter
Some salt, white pepper

Herb cream
200 g feta cheese
4 tablespoons crème fraîche or quark (in Norwegian that’s “kesam” I think)
1 garlic clove, grated
1 tablespoon of chopped, fresh herbs, like oregano or basil. Rosemary should also be nice, especially with turkey.

Herb cream:
Mash the feta cheese and stir in the crème fraîche, garlic and herbs. It’s done! Just let it rest in your fridge while you make the rest. I love the herb cream cold with the other hot parts of this meal.

Mash:
Chop the potatoes into small cubes, boil them until they are soft and ready to be mashed. Fry the garlic cloves in butter on low heat, to soften them up and make them a bit milder. Mash the potatoes and mash the garlic in with a garlic squeezer or by squeezing it through a sieve. To get a real feeling of home made mash I like to mash the potatoes by hand and not mash them too thoroughly either. Add the butter you used for the garlic and add some more butter if you like. (I won’t tell!). Add the milk little by little, so that you don’t make potato soup! Put in the nutmeg, mustard, salt and pepper as you see fit.

Turkey:
Nice amount of butter in the pan is required. Low heat to begin with to avoid burning the turkey on the outside and leaving it raw in the center. Turn up the heat towards the end to make the surface more crispy. Season as you go along, and use a spoon to pour excess butter over the top of the turkey breasts.

Serving:
Put the turkey on the platters, quickly add some water to the frying pan while it is still hot to get some extra gravy. Stir the water a bit and distribute the gravy over the turkey breasts. Put a nice pile of mash on the platter and decorate it with some fresh herbs. Add the herb cream on top of the turkey or on the side. Either way it should taste really nice.