Turkey Saltimbocca Piquante

Saltimbocca is a dish made with veal, prosciutto and sage, which is popular in Italy, Switzerland, Spain and Greece.  You can read more about it here.

My version of this famous dish is for a competition run by British Turkey to create an all year round dish using British Turkey and Peppadew Peppers.

Turkey Saltimbocca Piquante
500g British Turkey fillets
100g Peppadew Whole Sweet and Mild Piquante Peppers
84g Prosciutto
6 sage leaves
8-10 wooden skewers

For the marinade
4 sun dried tomatoes in oil, roughly chopped
2 tbsp oil from the tomatoes
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
200ml dry white wine
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Cut the turkey into small chunks about 2cm square.  Cut the sage leaves into strips and slice up the Peppadew peppers,  cut each slice of prosciutto cross ways into five pieces (see below)

2. Place the turkey cube onto the slice of prosciutto, add a small strip of sage and a slice of Peppadew pepper, roll the prosciutto around the turkey, sage and pepper and put the skewer through.

3. Add further pieces of rolled turkey to the skewer, 4 pieces seemed about right for the size of skewers I was using.

4. Put all the marinade ingredients, except the wine,  into a liquidiser or food processor and blitz until well combined.  Add the wine and blitz again.

 5. Place all the skewers into a non-metallic dish and pour over the marinade.  Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours.

6. Grill the skewers on a high heat for 5 minutes each side, then lower the heat and grill for a further 5 minutes.  Drain the marinade into a saucepan, bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Serve the sauce with the skewers.

The marinade ensures that the skewers are deliciously moist and the punchy flavour of the Piquante Peppadew peppers really complemented the turkey and prosciutto. 

I served these Turkey Saltimbocca Piquante skewers hot with buttered new potatoes and spring greens, but they would go well with rice or couscous.  They would be ideal for a barbeque and would also be delicious chilled and served with salad or as finger food at a buffet.