Adding lingonberry jam or redcurrant sauce to your Turkey cooking juices gives traditional gravy a touch of sweetness
INGREDIENT :
5-5.5kg/11-12lb turkey
2 onions
1 orange
25g softened butter
2 carrots, cut into big chunks
flat-leaf parsley sprigs, to garnish
For the stuffing
100g butter, plus extra for the tray and paper
2 tsp juniper berry
3 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
225g fresh white breadcrumb
2 eating apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
225g soft pitted prune, chopped
25g pack parsley, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
300ml red wine
1heaped tbsp lingonberry jam or redcurrant jelly
600ml turkey or chicken stock
25g butter
50g whole almond
2eating apples, cored and each cut into 8 wedges
RECIPE DIRECTION :
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Rinse the turkey inside and out, then pat dry with kitchen paper. Weigh the turkey to calculate the cooking time, allowing 40 mins per kg for the first 4kg, then 45 mins for each 1kg over that weight. Cut 1 onion into quarters and the other into 6 wedges. Finely grate 1⁄2 tsp orange zest from the orange and set aside for the stuffing. Quarter the orange and tuck it with the onion quarters into the turkey cavity. Rub the turkey all over with the butter, then season with salt and pepper. Put the onion wedges and carrot chunks in the middle of a large roasting tin and sit the turkey on top. Cover with a loose tent of foil, then roast following your calculated time.
Make the stuffing. Butter a 28 x 18 x 3cm deep baking tray and crush the juniper berries using a pestle and mortar. Melt the butter in a large frying pan, tip in the onions, garlic and celery, and fry for about 12-15 mins until softened and just starting to turn golden. Stir in the crushed juniper berries, then remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the breadcrumbs, apples, prunes, most of the parsley (reserve a small handful, to garnish), the reserved orange zest and the beaten eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the stuffing loosely into the baking tray, pat it down gently (don’t pack it down) then lay a piece of buttered baking parchment on top. Set aside. Can be made 1 day ahead and chilled.
Thirty mins before the end of the cooking time, remove the turkey and increase oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Remove the foil, baste the turkey, then return to the oven for a further 30 mins until golden. If you are roasting potatoes put them in now. To test if turkey is cooked, pierce the fattest part of the thigh with a skewer – the juices should run clear, not pink. If they are pink, continue to roast, checking at 10 min intervals.
Remove the turkey from the oven, transfer to a warm serving platter and rest, covered loosely with foil, for up to 1 hr before carving. Meanwhile, cook the stuffing, and make apple wedges and gravy. Increase oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Bake the stuffing for 30 mins, then remove paper and bake for a further 10 mins to brown the top.
Make the gravy, pour off any excess fat from the roasting tin, leave the juices and onions, and discard the carrot. Stir the wine and lingonberry jam or redcurrant jelly into the tin, scraping up any sticky bits from the bottom. Set the tin over a high heat and bring to the boil, then boil rapidly for 8-10 mins until reduced by half. Pour in the stock along with any resting juices from the turkey, and simmer for 10-15 mins or until reduced to your liking (this makes a slightly thinner gravy). Season, if needed.
Make the apple wedges. Melt the butter in a large non-stick frying pan. Tip in the almonds and apples, and fry over a medium heat for about 5-8 mins, moving them around often, until the almonds are toasted and the apples golden and softened, but still holding their shape. Don’t worry if the butter starts to turn a nutty brown, it just adds to the flavour.
To serve, strain the gravy into a pan, warm through, then pour into a jug. Scatter the stuffing with the reserved parsley and cut into squares or wedges. Garnish the turkey with the apples, nuts and flat-leaf parsley sprigs, and serve everything together.
