Roast turkey, asparagus and pomegranate salad with macadamia dressing

Babiche Martens

The turkey breast stays juicy thanks to plenty of stock and seasoning.

salad

2 fillets	Turkey breasts (Main)
2 tsp	Ground cumin
2 tsp	Ground coriander
1	Orange, grated zest
1 tsp	Dried chilli
1	Orange, grated zest
2 tsp	Fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 tsp	Fresh ginger, finely chopped
2	Garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 Tbsp	Olive oil
1 to taste	Salt & freshly ground pepper
½ cup	Vegetable stock, or water
16	Asparagus, fresh and trimmed

dressing

2 tsp	Dijon mustard
50 g	Macadamia nuts, lightly toasted
1 tsp	Brown sugar
4 tsp	Apple cider vinegar
½ cup	Olive oil
1 to taste	Salt & freshly ground pepper
1	Pomegranate, de-seeded, (or 1 cup fresh store-bought pomegranate seeds)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Place the breasts in a baking dish. Sprinkle in the cumin, coriander, chilli and orange zest. Add the ginger and garlic with the olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper then, using your hands, rub all the flavourings into the turkey breasts. Add stock (or water), cover with foil, and cook, allowing 30 minutes per kg of turkey meat.
2. Ten minutes before the turkey is done, remove the foil and add the asparagus to the roasting dish and return to the oven for remaining 10 minutes or until asparagus is tender and the turkey is cooked.
3. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes, if you want to serve the meat warm, or allow to cool completely.
4. To make the dressing, put the nuts into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until ground. Transfer to a bowl and whisk in mustard, brown sugar, vinegar and olive oil until it comes together. Taste check for acidity and add more vinegar or oil if it needs balancing.
5. Toss the salad greens in the dressing and arrange on a platter or individual plates with the sliced turkey, asparagus and a scattering of pomegranate seeds.