Turkey Breast with Gravy

Sunday dinner without Babcia Rose. This is the fourth one since she died and each one is different from the ones before it: less acute, differently shaped, the absence becoming structural rather than urgent. Dziadek Wally comes to Steve and Patty's now on Sundays — he lives with his daughter, Babcia Rose's daughter, who is not my family but who brings him over, because that is what people do — and he sits at the table in his usual chair and he eats and he watches the children and he does not say much, and the not saying much is not sad exactly, it is just: Wally without Rose is a quieter version of himself.

He called Owen "Myszka's boy" again on Sunday, which he has been doing since the birthday party, and this time Owen looked up at his great-great-grandfather — Dziadek Wally is my grandfather-in-law and Owen's great-grandfather, which makes him a great-great-grandfather by relationship — and said "Wally" very clearly. Wally looked at him. Owen said it again. Wally put down his fork and laughed, and it was the first time I had heard him laugh since Babcia Rose died.

I brought the mushroom soup. From the notebook. The best batch yet. Patty tasted it and said "that's her soup" and I felt something complex: pride and grief and a sense of lineage, of having received something and being its keeper now. Wally had two bowls. He did not say anything about it. He did not need to.

The notebook is becoming familiar. I know where the pierogi recipe is, I know where the mushroom soup is, I know where she keeps the golabki filling proportions. I am cooking from it every week now. It is working. The recipes are working. Something is being preserved that I did not know I was preserving, that I will not fully understand until some future Sunday when someone at my table is doing what I am doing now.

I brought the mushroom soup that day, and it was enough — more than enough — but the rest of the table still needed filling, and I had learned from Babcia Rose’s notebook that a Sunday dinner earns its weight in the things that slow-cook and fill the house with smell. Turkey Breast with Gravy is not from her notebook, but it belongs to the same logic: patient, unshowy, built for a table full of people who are grieving in different ways and need something warm in front of them. I made it for the first time that afternoon and I will make it again, because Wally had two bowls of soup and Owen said his name and the gravy was good, and sometimes a Sunday is made of exactly that.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 1 hr 45 min | Total Time: 2 hr 5 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 bone-in turkey breast (about 5–6 lbs)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth (for roasting pan)
For the gravy:
Pan drippings (from roasted turkey)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Pat the turkey breast dry with paper towels and place it in a roasting pan.
Season. Rub the turkey breast all over with olive oil. Mix together the salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, and smoked paprika, then rub the seasoning evenly over the skin and under it where possible.
Build the base. Scatter the onion, smashed garlic, celery, and carrot around the turkey breast in the roasting pan. Pour the 1 cup of chicken broth into the bottom of the pan.
Roast. Roast uncovered at 325°F for approximately 1 hour 45 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 165°F. Baste with pan drippings every 30 minutes. If the skin browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil.
Rest. Transfer the turkey breast to a cutting board and tent with foil. Let rest 15–20 minutes before carving.
Make the gravy. Pour the pan drippings through a fine-mesh strainer into a measuring cup; discard the solids. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and cook 1–2 minutes until golden. Gradually whisk in the strained drippings and the 2 cups chicken broth. Simmer, whisking frequently, until the gravy thickens, about 5–7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Carve and serve. Slice the turkey breast and arrange on a platter. Serve the gravy in a warm pitcher or bowl alongside.

Nutrition (per serving)

Turkey Breast with Gravy — The Sunday Table She Left Behind