Whether it’s a traditional turkey or something deliciously different, our star-studded Christmas mains will dazzle all.
Easy-carve roast turkey with chestnut stuffingaa
SERVES 6-8, WITH LEFTOVERS
HANDS-ON TIME 40 MINS
TOTAL TIME 2 HRS 20 MINS, PLUS COOLING AND RESTING
If the thought of prepping and cooking a whole turkey feels daunting, try this straightforward, time-saving recipe. It’s packed with all the classic Christmas flavours and looks great in the centre of your table.
1 turkey crown on the bone (about 2.5-2.75kg), plus
2 turkey legs, boned and rolled (or a 5kg whole turkey to prepare yourself)
100g soft salted butter
½ x 20g pack thyme
4 garlic cloves
For the stuffing
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, finely chopped
200g rustic bread, such as white sourdough
200g sausagemeat
½ x 20g pack sage, leaves chopped
75g dried cranberries
100g cooked and peeled chestnuts, chopped
250ml chicken stock (made with 1 stock pot or cube)
1 If your bird is not already butchered, prepare your turkey crown and boned legs (see instructions, right).
2 For the stuffing, heat the oil in a pan and cook the onion for 6-8 minutes until starting to soften. Blitz the bread to rough crumbs (if you don’t have a food processor, you can tear or grate it), then put in a large mixing bowl with the cooked onion, sausagemeat, sage, dried cranberries, chestnuts and seasoning. Mix in the stock to form a wet mixture, then allow to cool.
3 Lay out the boned turkey legs on a board, skin-side down. Place some stuffing down the centre of each turkey leg and roll up the meat to enclose it. Wrap each leg in a layer of baking paper, then tightly wrap in foil. (If you can, do this step the day before cooking to allow the stuffing to set and give a better shape to your ballotine.) Roll the rest of the stuffing into about 12 balls and place on a baking tray. Cover and chill until ready to cook.
4 Remove the turkey crown and the leg ballotines from the fridge at least 45 minutes before roasting. Rub the soft butter all over the turkey crown, season and place in a roasting tin. Tuck the thyme and garlic underneath the crown. Put the foil-wrapped ballotine legs in a separate roasting tin (roast these on the lower shelf).
5 Preheat the oven to 230°C, fan 210°C, gas 8. Roast the turkey crown and ballotines for 30 minutes, then turn the oven down to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6 and cook for a further 30 minutes.
6 At this point, remove the ballotines from the oven (leave the crown to roast for a further 15 minutes). Unwrap the ballotines and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes to brown and crisp up.
7 Insert a skewer into the thickest part of the turkey breast;
