Have you ever heard of Serotonin, the mood-stabiliser? Did you know we need certain nutrients in order to make up neurotransmitter like serotonin? One of these nutrients is Tryptophan, and turkey is an amazing source of it!
My blog-partner Jennifer Cauli —a talented food & travel photographer and a friend, also from Italy— and myself joined forces to create a series of recipes (and pictures) that would use the typical Italian ingredients, but also have a contemporary and healthy twist.
In the past two weeks we focused our attention to the gut-brain axis — the connection between our digestive tract and our nervous system. We talked about neurotransmitters — chemical messenger, sending signals between our nerve cells in order to increase or lower our body response — and we mentioned serotonin.
Serotonin controls our emotions and motor skills. It’s the mood-stabilizing chemical that helps with sleep, eating, digesting. Serotonin is made from the essential amino acid tryptophan. An essential compound (amino acids, fatty acids, etc…) is something that must enter your body through the diet.
Being the precursor of serotonin and melatonin makes tryptophan extremely important to our mood and sleep cycle. Eating a healthy diet which contains this amino acid may help support our mental health, so it is something we should all consider during these delicate times.
Tryptophan is found in red meat, dairy, nuts, seeds, bananas and turkey — and turkey is our special ingredient for this week’s recipe! We picked this type of meat instead of other animal proteins as we though not many people know the health-promoting benefits of turkey. This poultry has a higher protein content than beef, for example (34g instead of 26g per 100g) and half its saturated fat, plus it is packed with B vitamins and minerals.
In these roasted turkey rolls we also added spinach, pistachios and cabbage as we wanted to use more of those ingredients that can optimise the gut-brain health. Folate, B6 and magnesium found in the foods above are fundamental for both the digestive and nervous system.
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003198/full
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/68692
RECIPE
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: about 2 hours
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS
- 1 turkey breast (about 250g)
FILLING - 100g spinach
- a bunch of thyme
- 30g onions (finely chopped)
- 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
- 5ml oil
- 15g crushed pistachios
- salt
COATING - 20g ground pistachios
- 20g chopped pistachios
- 1 egg
- 3g salt
CABBAGE - olive oil
- 170g cabbage
- 30ml orange juice
- a pinch of salt
INSTRUCTIONS
For the filling. In a small deep pan heat up 5ml of oil. Cook the onions and garlic with the thyme for about 5 minutes or until translucent. When it is ready, set aside to cool down.
Open the Turkey breast cutting with a sharp knife in the middle. Then place it in between two cling film sheets. Flatten it out with a rolling pin.
Now place the spinach leaves in a double layer on top of the turkey. Spoon the filling on the top. Roll it into itself to form a cylinder shape. With the help of the cling film. Discard the cling film and hold the roll in place by using the cook’s string.
Place it in the fridge to rest for about 1 hour.
Brush some egg yolk on the top. Coat with the pistachio mix.
Preheat the oven to 150 ºC
Place a bit of parchment paper on a baking tray and cook the turkey roll for about 2hours. I advise using a thermometer to check the internal temperature, you are looking for 70 ºC.
While it is cooking you can prepare the cabbage. Cut it into thin stripes and discard the hardest parts.
Cook in a pan with a tiny bit of boiling water for about 10-15minutes. Drain the water, season to taste and squeeze half an orange on the top before serving.
Cromo Nutrition 