FOOD Neven Maguire’s Christmas roast turkey, with trimmings

TASTE OF TRADITION Roast turkey is an integral part of a Christmas feast.

Traditional Christmas turkey, with trimmings


Food
Neven Maguire

It’s definitely worth paying the extra to get a free range turkey from a reputable supplier. I use Thornhill Farm based in Blacklion. The meat of a free-range bird will be much tastier and more succulent, and you know it’s had a good life.
Here’s a simple recipe for the perfect turkey this Christmas, compete with a delicious stuffing, some delectable trimmings and, of course, a mouth-watering gravy.

Sage, onion and pine nut stuffing
Ingredients

• 1 large onion, peeled and diced
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 tsp chopped sage
• 2oz pine nuts, toasted
• 6oz fresh white breadcrumbs
• 3oz butter
• 1 tbsp chopped apricots
• 1 x 12lb turkey

Method
Melt butter in pan and cook onions for a few minutes until they soften. Add the herbs, apricots and pine nuts. Mix well, and stir the mixture into the white bread crumbs, again mixing well. It’s now ready to use and stuff the turkey.


Turkey with trimmings
Ingredients

• 1 free-range turkey
• 4 streaky bacon rashers
• 5oz pitted prunes
• 1 pkt cocktail sausages
• Herbs, parsley sage and bay leaves

Method
Preheat the oven to 190ºC (170ºC if using a fan oven), or gas mark 5.
Rub the skin of the turkey all over with the butter and season with salt and pepper.
Stuff the neck cavity of the turkey with the stuffing. Fold the skin back over the stuffing and place under the turkey.
Turn the turkey breast-side up and tie the top of the drum sticks with string. Weigh the turkey to calculate required cooking time (around 20-25 minutes per pound and add 20 minutes – when you push a point of a knife into the leg of the turkey and the juices run clear, you’ll know it’s cooked – plus ten minutes extra at the end for resting).
Loosely wrap in foil, leaving air to circulate around turkey. Every 40 minutes, baste by spooning juice over the bird. Unwrap foil for the final 40 minutes to one hour.
Meanwhile, make the prune trimmings by wrapping the prunes in small strips of bacon. Add cocktail sausages and bacon-wrapped prunes to the turkey tin for the final 30 minutes of cooking time.
When the turkey is done (to be sure, push the point of a knife into the leg of the bird – the juices will run clear when it is cooked), transfer to a warm plate, remove strings, cover with foil and leave to rest for ten minutes. Garnish with trimmings and herbs.

Gorgeously simple gravy
Make your gravy while the turkey is resting. After the bird has been removed from the roasting tin, heat the remaining juices in the tin over a gentle heat.
Slowly stir in 1 tablespoon of flour.
Cook for two minutes. Pour in three tablespoons of port or red wine, gradually (slowly!) add one pint of stock and bring to the boil. Simmer, stirring occasionally for ten minutes until reduced and thickened. Season to taste.
If you have the giblets, with your turkey make a giblet stock. I always soak the giblets overnight in cold water, then drain the water away. Place the giblets in a pan with six peppercorns, one carrot and chopped onion, two bay leaves and thyme.
Pour in two pints of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes.