"Gabika" amazing Turkey in Red Wine

This is my Mum's excellent recipe and I ask for it every time I go home.  Tried to recreate it  - turned out delicious*.   Here's how.  This dish needs preparation 5-12 hours before the dinner. If you want it to be very good, you make it 5 hours before dinner.  If you want it to be excellent, you make it right in the morning!!  

*It never gets as delicious as it does when my Mum makes it. Think it's something I'll just have to live with.

A lot of people make the mistake of using "ok" or "acceptable" wine for cooking, and drink the nice bottle.  Make sure you use very good quality , rich red wine, and use the same bottle for cooking that you will use for drinking with it.  Makes all the difference!

(No photo - it was some time ago..)

Ingredients for 6 (or 4 very generous portions):

• 400g Turkey escalopes - I prefer Waitrose free range as their turkey tastes very rich. Good suppliers I guess?
• 4tbsp olice oil - use the unflavoured version
• 750g chestnut or closed cup white mushrooms
• 185ml good quality red wine
• 10g plain flour (or less - depends on how thick you pat)
• 20g butter
• one whole red onoin
• Salt, pepper and a herb mix of your choice
• 1 vegetable stock, or two, to taste. 

1.) Prep:  Slice mushrooms to thick flat slices (not cubes), put aside.  Prepare escalopes with rubbing salt, pepper and flour  onto both sides. Put wine in glass and let it air. Slice onion to nice thick round slices and do not crack them apart, if you can keep them together!

2.) Turkey:  Melt half the butter in a large, shallow frying pan and turn up the heat.  Put turkey in and cook on both sides for 2 minutes, then turn down the heat to medium, cover, and cook until thoroughly done (10 mins approx). You can always add a splash of water if extra steam is needed.  Once it's done, put aside.

3.) Layers:  Turn up the heat, add the other half of the butter, melt, then put the onions in.  Simmer until slightly crispy and glassy but do not let it burn. Careful not to break the onoin circles.   Take them out and put on the side.

4.) More layers:  Add the mushrooms and a splash of water to the frying pan, cover and cook until the mushrooms are soft and lose a little bit of their volume, but not yet ready.  Add salt, pepper and the herb mix and stir

5.) Wine:  Add 125ml water to a small saucepan and bring to the boil.  Add the vegetable stock.  Add the wine and boil for about 1-2 minutes together.

6.) And that's it:  Grab a nice large casserole dish or similar (I use heatproof glass dishes with a thick glass lid).  Take half of the turkey and layer it to the bottom of the dish.  Follow with a layer of half the onlins, then a layer of half the mushrooms.  Repeat again: one layer of turkey, one layer of onions and then mushrooms on the very top. Pour the water/wine/stock mix into the dish, cover.

If you make this more than 4-5 hours before cooking it, then put it in the fridge, otherwise it can be left out to sit and for the wonderful tastes to mature together.

7.) Before dinner:  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and put it in.  Cook for 40 minutes.  If it was in the fridge before, do not preheat the over - then just put it in, and cook for 50 minutes on 180. Check when it's nearly done:  If too liquidy (mushrooms will lose more water in the process), take off the lid and cook without it for ten minutes to get rid of the excess moisture.

Serve with rice and with the same wine you used for the sauce.

Cal count:

1 portion without rice (1/6th of the recipe) makes for a very light 240 cal meal, but even if you take a generous 1/4th of the recipe, it will only set you back by around 350 cals. And it's thick and incredibly filling, as well as virtually fat free with turkey being the least fatty meat out there.  Add around 100-150 cals for rice, depending on the size of the portion.