Recipe: Roast turkey, asparagus and pomegranate salad with Macadamia dressing

The turkey breast stays juicy thanks to plenty of stock and seasoning. Photo / Babiche Martens

Serves 4

• 2 turkey breast fillets
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp dried chilli
• Grated zest of one orange
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 4 Tbs olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
• 16 fresh asparagus spears, trimmed

Dressing

• 50g macadamias, lightly toasted
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 4 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 handfuls of salad greens
• 1 pomegranate, de-seeded (or 1 cup fresh store-bought pomegranate seeds)

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. 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. 10 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.