Turkey is something that we usually only ate when we had a lot of company for Shabbat dinner. And in that case, we’d roast a whole turkey with celery, carrots, onions, and spices. It was good, and really the only way I knew how to eat turkey. Stephanie and I used to baste it every so often, and then when it was hot, but cool enough to handle, carve it. I never actually ate turkey at the dinner table because I’d pick at it while carving. Oh, we also had turkey on Thanksgiving. But this was not made in our house, so I had no idea how it was made.
Well, the other day I was at the butcher looking for some Shabbat dinner inspiration, and I saw that they had a turkey leg and thigh – what a good thing to make instead of a roast chicken (although that dish IS amazingly delicious), especially when I’m only feeding two people.
This is an easy dish that I whipped up and threw in the oven on a very tiring Friday after work. When it was finished, I took a nap. I woke up, carved it, and threw it in the oven to heat up right before candles. It was a perfect quick main dish. And the onions I cooked it in were scrumptious mixed with rice and peas.
Roasted Turkey Leg and Thigh, serves 2:
Ingredients:
- 1 turkey leg and thigh
- 1 onion, sliced thin
- 1 carrot, cut into rounds
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- About 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place the onion, carrot, and garlic cloves in the bottom of a small roasting pan or Pyrex. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil. Then add salt and pepper and mix around.
3. Place turkey on top of the veggies.
4. Pat dry, then cover with a tablespoon of oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top of the turkey and be generous! There aren’t any spices in this recipe, so it needs the seasoning.
5. Place in oven, uncovered, for 1 hour (start checking at 50 minutes) until skin is browned and bubbly. Depending on the size of your turkey, it will take shorter or longer than this.
6. Remove from oven and cover loosely with foil for 15 minutes.
7. Carve slices from the thigh and serve the leg whole or in pieces. Enjoy!
