Turkey fillet with chestnuts

This was a hearty-tasting (although light) main dish screaming of fall through every flavor hint it contained :). We had some chestnuts on our hands that needed to accompany something and pairing them with roast turkey and a nice delicious sauce seemed the best idea. Definitely re-doable and worth sharing with you guys, so here it is. Enjoy.


Last year: French onion soup with oregano, toast and emmentaler. 



Ingredients:

• 2 pieces of turkey fillet (ours were about 350 g together)
• 500 ml chicken or vegetable stock
• 200 g peeled chestnuts
• 1 small onion
• 1-2 thin slices of good-quality bacon
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• thyme and rosemary to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon each)
• 1 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika

Boil the chestnuts in the chicken stock, covered, until tender (may take 40-50 minutes). When they're almost done, start working on the rest.
Heat the olive oil in a small skillet and add the chopped onion and bacon to it on low heat.

Uncover and test the chestnuts:

After the onion and bacon pieces are golden (but not browned), push them a little aside and add the two turkey pieces. Also pour on top of them the chestnuts and all their stock:

Let the meat boil in the liquid infused with all the flavors.  Turn it after 5-6 minutes and let it boil some more until it doesn't seem raw anymore. Now add the sliced garlic, vinegar and the rest of the spices and let the whole thing cook some more until the liquid reduces almost completely (only a little sauce needs to remain), about 10 minutes more.

Arrange on plates (a piece of turkey breast and half of the chestnut side dish) and serve warm, with rice or bread or mashed potatoes. Dig in! :)