Search This Blog

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Easiest Shabbat Dinner Ever: Roast Turkey Breast & Galil Potatoes

We named these
Galil Potatoes because Zach described how much he liked that when he was a camper.  Really soooo easy.
The trick with these potatoes is that you need to cook them at a very high temperature for about 45
minutes, and you need to turn them once and manage to do it
Different colored potatoes make a nice presentation
without burning yourself.  I didn't turn the ones pictured here, and they burned a bit.  The other trick, if you are also roasting a turkey breast, is that the the turkey will take about a half hour to 45 minutes longer, so hold off before putting in the potatoes.  This isn't really a recipe so much as a technique.

3 to 4 larger potatoes, your choice, including sweet potatoes and/or
1 container fingerling potatoes
other vegetables you feel like roasting: red onions, carrots, parsnips


  • Spray a flat baking pan with olive oil.  
  • Wash the potatoes if needed, but do not peel.  (makes it easy!)
  • Slide potatoes into eighths or so, shape really doesn't matter
  • Toss the slices in the pan, spray with olive oil, and sprinkle with pepper, salt or whatever you like.
  • Bake at 450 for about 45 minutes, turning once to prevent burning, taking care not to burn yourself :-).
If you also do a turkey breast, here is how I do it.  Don't know where the honey mustard idea came from, but the aluminum foil pocket method is in The Settlement Cookbook on page 300.

1 Empire Turkey breast, under 5 lbs. (a half turkey breast works, too) - best to thaw first
¼ c mustard
¼ c honey
or use pre-mixed honey mustard, about 4 T.
(for Passover, you can use ketchup and honey, if you don't have mustard.)
seasonings to taste

Use a large piece of HEAVY weight aluminum foil. Shape it into a large roasting pan, creating a leak-free lining with sides and leaving extra for covering the turkey.  Squirt the bottom with honey. Same with the mustard.  
Gently place the turkey in the foil, turn it once so the honey/mustard coats both sides.  Season.  
Carefully close the foil over the breast, folding the sides over and sealing, leaving no open areas where juice can leak - at 450 it will burn and make a mess of the pan.  Seal the foil.  Poke a few holes for steam to escape.

Bake about 1.5 hours at 450.  The sauce is very tasty, so you can pour it into a small bowl w/ a gravy ladle, or serve in a small pitcher.  The fancy solution: a gravy boat.

If it does leak, be sure to soak the pan - a lot of the burned juice will come up in pieces, after a bit.