I read in David Lebovitz’ fine blog, Living the Sweet Life in Paris, about a turkey "melon” that he bought from a butcher at the Anvers open air market, which is open on Friday afternoons, and decided I had to have one.
So I made my way to this small but rather nice market last Friday and bought one. It is a breast of turkey miraculously formed into a round (melon-shaped) ball, then covered with bacon with the aid of an intricate web of string and stuffed with grainy mustard. (As you can see from the pictures, they have lamb and chicken "melons" too.
Although the directions (on the butcher paper) suggest cooking this atop the stove, David did his in the oven, and I followed suit, even to the point of adding chopped shallots, quartered mushrooms and a splash of wine before roasting, covered.
A couple of hours later, voilà, a magnificent dish . . .
. . . which, carved into wedges, looks like this (note the masses of string):
There is a lot of liquid left, which needs to be de-fatted and reduced but makes a luscious, mustardy sauce.
Fun for me and for the friend I invited to share the experience.
Bobby Jay
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