It’s what everyone has been waiting for on the big day. Serve one of these sensational ideas and you’ll have a Christmas to remember
Mulled wine glazed ham
page 58
Roast turkey with sage and pine nut stuffing
MAKES 10-12 SERVINGS
If a traditional turkey is a must in your house, this method of brining and poaching it in advance minimises any cooking stress on Christmas Day. It’ll take just an hour in the oven before you sit down to eat to crisp it up to golden perfection.
Hands-on time 1 hr 30 mins
Total time 4 hrs 20 mins, plus brining, cooling and resting
For the brine
250g fine sea salt
½ tsp black peppercorns
½ tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
10g thyme sprigs
20g rosemary sprigs
1.5ltr orange juice
1 x4.5-5.5kg turkey
For the stuffing
30ml Madeira, sherry or apple juice
60g golden raisins or sultanas
50g butter
1 onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
50g pine nuts
150g stale bread, crumbed
150g sausagemeat 1 medium egg, beaten
2 tbsp chopped sage
To cook the turkey
1 onion, quartered
1 bulb garlic, halved
10g thyme sprigs
2 tbsp oil or goose fat
1 Start this recipe 2 days ahead of roasting. For the brine, put the salt, spices and herbs in a large pan with 2 litres water. Slowly bring to the boil, until the salt has dissolved then remove from the heat and add the orange juice. Leave to cool completely.
2 Prepare your turkey crown and boned legs (see right, and see also Kitchen tip for how to make stock for gravy from the bones). Add these to the cooled brine in a suitable container, cover and leave for 24 hours in a cool place or the fridge.
3 For the stuffing, gently heat the Madeira in a small pan, add the raisins, cover and leave to soak for an hour. Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the onion, garlic, pine nuts and a pinch of salt; cook until the onion is soft. Tip into a bowl, add the breadcrumbs and cool slightly before mixing in the sausagemeat, egg, sage, Madeira-soaked raisins and some black pepper. Cover and chill.
4 Next morning (Christmas Eve), remove the turkey from the brine, rinse with fresh water and pat dry. Put the crown back in the fridge on a plate, loosely covered with baking paper. Lay the boned legs out flat on a board and place a sausage shape of stuffing in the centre. Roll the legs up around the stuffing, tie with string to secure then roll tightly in clingfilm (use enough to wrap around the roulades about three times) and knot the ends, taking care to remove any air bubbles. Chill for at least 2 hours or until ready to cook. Roll any remaining stuffing mixture into small balls, cover and chill.
5 Remove the turkey from the fridge at least an hour before cooking. Bring a large pan of wat
