Because I don’t cook with ground turkey much, I didn’t even realize you could buy packages of white meat and dark meat ground turkey. But there they sat, side by side in the Trader Joe’s Kosher Poultry section. I like to buy Kosher poultry because the koshering process, known in Hebrew as melichah (“salting”), is similar to brining: The meat is washed, soaked in water; salted; and then rinsed thoroughly it three times. (My friend, Devra Ferst, the newly appointed food editor of the Jewish Daily Forward lent a hand with this information. Thanks and Congratulations, Devra!)
Since Turkey is so fat-free, it needs all the help it can get to impart flavor. I would never consider roasting a turkey without brining it first. But I would also never consider brining ground turkey. The other thing to remember about turkey is that it readily absorbs other flavors which is why there’s Turkey Bacon, Turkey Ham and Turkey Pastrami. In this recipe the flavor comes from all kinds of additions—garlic, sage, onions, ginger. And then there’s the Spicy Tomato Jam.
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Sauté mushrooms until just beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper and 1/4 teaspoon thyme. Continue to brown mushrooms, stirring, about 6 minutes more. Stir in roasted red peppers. Transfer mixture to a plate and let cool.
We love this recipe. It was the best turkey meatloaf I ever tasted and pretty too.