Sveta's Turkey Loaf

One of my favorite resources for discovering new recipes is to ask a friend, "What are you cooking today?" If it seems like something that might go over well at my house, I cook it that very day.

Because often I do get stuck in a recipe rut...fixing those "sure hit" recipes time after time. Well, yesterday I spent the morning on a wild shopping spree with my Russian friend, Sveta, who told me she wanted to fix a Turkey Loaf. And guess what we had for lunch at my house yesterday?

Here's her recipe...

Ingredients:

1/2 small onion
300 g. deboned turkey breast
300 g. fresh ricotta
1 egg
some bread crumbs (how much? depends on how compact you like your loaf)
salt and pepper to taste
a pinch of ground nutmeg
some parsley
a dash of extra virgin olive oil
300 g. sliced speck ham

Heat oven to 180° celcius. Blend all the ingredients (except the oil and ham) in your food processor until you have a fairly smooth mix. Lay your slices of speck on a sheet of waxed paper (in Italy they have what's called "carta forno" which is similar to waxed paper, but without the wax) and form a loaf on top of the ham. Wrap the ham around the loaf, using extra slices to close up any uncovered areas. Grease your cooking dish with some olive oil and gently roll your loaf into the center of the dish. Bake for 1 hour, approximately.

Optionally, you can use a slightly larger baking dish and add diced potatoes, seasoned with a bit of salt and olive oil, around the loaf.

My kids were still raving about how good it was when they went to bed last night! Now, that's my measure of a successful meal