Leek & Prosciutto Stuffed Turkey Breast

I started making this turkey dish for thanksgiving during Covid when it was just a very small group of us together for Thanksgiving. But once I made it, I decided I'm not going back to roasting a whole turkey any time soon. It only needs an hour and change in the oven, takes up a fraction of the space (in both the fridge and the oven), and is such a hit with anyone who tries it that I'm hard pressed to go back to the traditional turkey.

One of the best things about this dish is you still get one of the best benefits of roasting a whole turkey: you can still make delicious, fresh gravy with the drippings.

You can order a boneless turkey breast most anywhere you can get a whole turkey. I usually call and order one in advance since it's not as common a thing to shop for around thanksgiving as a whole bird.

While I absolutely love the prosciutto in this dish, if you're making it for a group that includes anyone who doesn't eat pork you can absolutely skip it. Sometimes I add a little sautéed chard or kale to the filling with the leeks instead of the prosciutto.

The compound butter for this dish is so delicious and as it melts it helps keep the turkey really juicy while adding a lot of flavor from the herbs, lemon zest and shallot. You can also make it days or weeks ahead. That said, if you're pressed for time you could just add room temperature butter and some chopped herbs. If you don't use all the compound butter you can refrigerate or freeze it (as I do) and slice a piece off whenever you want to use it (which for me is all the time, with sautéed or roast veggies, proteins, or just on a delicious piece of bread).

Serves 8.