Apply the flavours of a chicken kiev – garlic, parsley and butter – to a succulent turkey crown, and you'll be in for a treat. It's a great Christmas main
INGREDIENT :
2kg turkey crown
200g ciabatta, baguette or sourdough, preferably stale
garlic bulbs, lemons and shallots, halved, plus fresh herbs, to serve (optional)
250g butter, softened
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
RECIPE DIRECTION :
To make the garlic butter, place all the ingredients in a bowl and season well. Mash with a fork until well combined and set aside. Can be prepared up to a day ahead and chilled, or made two weeks ahead and frozen (allow to soften before using).
Sit the turkey crown on a board with the thicker part of the breast facing away from you. Using your hands, make two pockets between the skin and the meat, then get a long, thin-bladed knife and insert it lengthways into each pocket to make them deeper. Tip some of the garlic butter into a piping bag and pipe as much as you can into each pocket. Reserve about 3 tbsp of the garlic butter, then smear the rest under and all over the skin, so the crown is completely covered.
Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Sit the crown in a roasting tin, skin-side up, and roast for 30 mins. Baste with the juices and return to the oven, then baste again after another 30 mins. At this stage you can also put the halved garlic bulbs, lemons and shallots in the oven, if using, but in a separate baking tray. Continue roasting for a final 30 mins (1½ hrs total) until golden. Meanwhile, blitz the bread into rough crumbs in a food processor. Check the turkey with a cooking thermometer – it should read 65C. Remove it from the oven and the tin, then leave on a warm platter to rest for 20-30 mins. Remove the garlic, lemons and shallots from the oven as well and cover to keep warm.
Turn the oven up to 210C/190C fan/gas 7. Stir the breadcrumbs into the roasting tin and put in the oven, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp. Melt the reserved garlic butter in a pan or microwave. To serve, carve the turkey crown into slices, drizzle with some of the melted butter and scatter over the crispy crumbs. Garnish with the roasted garlic bulbs, lemon halves, shallots and some fresh herbs, if you like.
