How nice is it when you eat a dish that’s just FULL of flavour?! When we ate this turkey with creamy paprika sauce we never stopped saying “no but really, it’s so good!” The turkey comes out soft and juicy and the sauce is simply amazing. Also, if you’ve never cooked couscous you’ll love my cooking method.
For this turkey with creamy paprika sauce I used turkey filets. They’re made simply by slicing turkey breasts, which makes them perfect for pan-frying. They cook quickly and it’s not messy at all. Turkey breast is really good for this this because it’s very soft and really complements the sauce in a good way. And for the couscous, that bit of lemon zest is incredible.
Cooking this type of couscous is very simple and quick. If you don’t know couscous, it’s like a mini pasta, and it makes a quick side dish. To cook it, you just need to pour boiling water on it. You add enough water to cover it plus 1cm/1/3in extra. That’s more than enough to cook it through. After 10-15 minutes it will be ready. When you know this, you can let your imagination free with the flavour possibilities. I added salt, pepper and lemon zest but it could also be turmeric or other spices, or even mix it with cooked veggies.
It’s important not to overcook the turkey so that it doesn’t dry out, the same as with chicken. How do we make sure that the centre is fully cooked and yet not overcook it? My favourite method is to cook it on one side until it’s 3/4 cooked. You know this by seeing how much of it has gone from pink to white. When it gets to this point, you flip it and cook it on the other side for another couple of minutes. Juicy and cooked through turkey! If you like turkey, like me, you can check out here all my turkey recipes.
Ingredients
For the cous cous
- 1 cup cous cous
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ lemon zest only
- Boiling water
For the turkey with creamy paprika sauce
- 350 g turkey filets
- 1 tbsp butter salted or unsalted
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 180 g brown onion approx ½ a large onion or 1 small onion
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 3 garlic cloves grated, minced or puréed
- 120 ml white wine optional
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 100 ml milk
- 100 ml cream
Instructions
For the couscous
- Place the couscous in a heat-proof bowl. It can be in a small pot as well.
- Add the lemon zest, salt and pepper and mix.
- Add enough boiling water to cover the couscous plus 1cm / ⅓in extra water. Let it cook without stirring for 10-15 minutes.
- Use a fork to fluff up the couscous.
For the turkey with creamy paprika sauce
- Preheat a pan over medium-high heat and add the butter and oil. The oil prevents the butter from burning. Add the turkey filets and don't move them until it has cooked ¾ of the way (yo usee this by noticing the change in colour from pink to white). Flip them and cook them on the other side for 2 extra minutes.
- Remove the turkey from the pan and add the onion, paprika and oregano to the same pan where we cooked the turkey. Cook the onion over medium heat until it's very soft and starts to get golden. As it cooks you can cut the turkey in cubes.
- Add the garlic and cook it for 30 seconds – 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the wine (optional) and let it evaporate completely.
- Add the flour and mix.
- Add the milk and cream and mix. Add the cubed turkey (also add the jiuces it might have let go of) and let everything simmer over low heat until the sauce thickens.
- Correct the level of salt and pepper and serve.
