Turkey roll with Christmas crumble topping and sage and onion stuffing Christmas is such a great family time and no matter how big or small your gathering is, this is the perfect way to serve turkey. When I was a kid, we used to have a well-known turkey roll on Christmas day and this is my updated, super-tasty version of that supermarket classic. I concede there is quite a lot of work to do here, but so much of it can be done days in advance, so there isn’t much Christmas-day pressure. If you buy yourself an instant-read thermometer, I promise you will have a lovely, moist and succulent turkey breast. It could be the best £10.00 you’ll ever spend. Why not ask for one for your Christmas stocking?
Serves 6–8 1 boneless, skinless turkey, 2–2.2kg, butterflied – any butcher will do this for you, and make sure to ask for the bones 20 streaky smoked bacon rashers 150ml Homemade Brown Sauce (see page 22) Rye Bread Sauce (see page 242), to serve roasted carrots and parsnips, to serve
For the gravy 2kg turkey bones, chopped – you can get these from your butcher 2 turkey wings, chopped 31/2 litres Brown Chicken Stock (see page 240) 150g button mushrooms, wiped, trimmed and sliced 4 banana shallots, sliced 2 celery sticks, chopped 10 sprigs of thyme 50g butter, melted 50g plain white flour salt and pepper, to taste
For the Christmas crumble topping 100g sourdough bread, torn into pieces and toasted 100g shelled pistachio nuts, peeled 100g Pork Scratchings (see page 102) 50g dried cranberries 2 tablespoons thyme leaves 1 orange
For the sage and onion stuffing 250g butter, cubed 400g onion, finely chopped 800g sausage meat 160g fresh fine breadcrumbs 100g vacuum-packed cooked chestnuts, finely chopped 100g dried cranberries 5 tablespoons chopped sage leaves 1 tablespoon juniper berries, finely chopped 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper 2 teaspoons salt Up to 2 days in advance, begin the gravy. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Place the turkey bones and turkey wings in the tray and roast them for 30–40 minutes until they are dark brown, but not burnt. Transfer the bones and turkey wings to a large saucepan over a high heat. Add the brown chicken stock, mushrooms, shallots and celery and bring to the boil, using a large metal spoon to skim the surface, as necessary. Turn the heat down to very low and leave the stock to simmer, uncovered, for 4 hours, or until it is reduced by one-third. Turn the heat off, add the thyme leaves and leave to infuse, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Pass the stock through a fine sieve into a bowl, then leave to cool completely. Cover and place in the fridge for 12 hours so the fat can set on the top and be removed easily. (continued on page 195)
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(continued from page 193) When you’re ready to finish the gravy, remove and discard the fat. Pour the stock into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Mix the melted butter and flour together to make a paste. Add this mix into the boiling liquid, little by little, whisking constantly and vigorously until the gravy thickens. Season, then pass the gravy though a sieve lined with muslin. It’s now ready to serve. Leave on one side until needed. To make the sage and onion stuffing, melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and fry, stirring, for 3–5 minutes until softened. Tip the onions and butter into a large bowl and leave to cool. When the onions are cool, add the remaining stuffing ingredients and mix together. Leave on one side until needed. To make the crumble topping, mix the toasted sourdough pieces, pistachio nuts, pork scratchings, dried cranberries and thyme leaves together. Break everything up with your fingers until they are all the same size. Leave to one side until needed. To prepare the turkey, begin by unrolling it and opening it like a book, smooth side down. Cover the surface with clingfilm and bash it out a little with a rolling pin to make it into a rough square, 1–11/2 cm thick. Spread a 1/2 cm layer of the stuffing mix on to the turkey breast and then tightly roll it up, like rolling a Swiss roll. Wrap it in clingfilm as tightly as you can, then use kitchen string to tie the ends and to secure the roll in a couple of places to help keep its shape. Place the turkey roll into the fridge until needed. You will have more stuffing mix than you will use for the turkey, but do not throw it away. It will be roasted separately. Cover and keep it in the fridge until needed. When you’re finally ready to cook the turkey, preheat the oven to 120°C/Gas mark 1/2 . Bring a kettle of water to the boil and pour 400ml boiling water into a roasting tray. Put a wire rack in the tray and place the still-wrapped turkey roll on the rack. Place the tray in the oven and roast the turkey for 11/2 hours, or until an instant-read thermometer stuck into the centre of the turkey reads 70°C. Once the correct internal temperature has been reached, remove the turkey from the oven and leave it to rest, still wrapped in clingfilm, for 45 minutes. Do not turn the oven off.
Meanwhile, line a flameproof bowl with the bacon rashers, with plenty of overhang. Add the remaining stuffing, pressing it down, and wrap the bacon ends over the top. Place the bowl in the oven about 15 minutes before the turkey should finish cooking and bake the stuffing for 45 minutes, or until it reaches 70°C on an instant-read thermometer. Remove the bowl from the oven and leave to one side until just before the turkey finishes resting. Meanwhile, preheat the grill to medium. When you’re getting ready to serve, place the bowl with the stuffing under the grill and grill for 8–10 minutes until the top of the stuffing is crispy. After the turkey has rested for 30 minutes, unwrap it and brush a thick layer of the brown sauce over the top. Use your hands to press the Christmas crumble mix all over and instantly grate over the orange zest to release the oil. To serve, slice the turkey and serve immediately with the gravy and stuffing. The perfect accompaniments? Rye bread sauce and roasted carrots and parsnips. Enjoy the rest of your Christmas day.
Tom’s Tips If you want to get really ahead, leave the gravy to cool completely after it is thickened, then store in a covered container in the fridge for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. The sage and onion stuffing can be made up to 2 days in advance and kept in the fridge, and you can stuff and roll the turkey breast a day in advance.
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Spiced orange cake with plum sauce and Christmas pudding ice cream This is a great alternative festive dessert for everybody who says they don’t like Christmas pudding, but still want to enjoy the flavours of Christmas. You can make each component of the dish well in advance so you’re not left with loads to do on Christmas Eve.
Serves 6–8 3 oranges, 450g pulp butter, softened for greasing the tin 300g ground almonds 300g caster sugar 7 eggs 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger icing sugar, to decorate extra peeled oranges, to decorate
For the plum sauce 150g butter, cubed 100g caster sugar 1 cinnamon stick 1.5kg plums, halved and stoned freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
For the Christmas pudding ice cream 375g double cream 375g milk 110g caster sugar 150g egg yolks (approximately 8 eggs’ worth) 2 tablespoons glycerine (optional) 500g steamed Christmas pudding, cooled and crumbled To make the plum sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the sugar and cinnamon stick and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the plums and lemon juice, turn the heat to low and continue stirring until the plums break down into a purée, which will take about 20 minutes.
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Remove the cinnamon stick, then pour the purée into a blender and blend until smooth. Pass the sauce through a fine sieve into a bowl, then leave on one side until needed. To make the Christmas pudding ice cream, put the cream and milk into a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks in a heatproof bowl until fluffy and pale. Pour the boiling cream on to the egg mix, whisking. Pour the mix back into the pan and simmer, whisking, until the custard reaches 82°C on an instant-read thermometer. Pass the hot custard through a fine sieve into a bowl. Stir in the glycerine, if you are using, and whisk together. It acts as an anti-freeze and helps the ice cream stay smooth and ice-crystal free. Leave to one side to cool completely. Place the Christmas pudding in another bowl. When the custard is cool, stir it into the Christmas pudding, then pour into an ice cream machine and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Place in a freezerproof container and freeze for up to 3 months. To make the cake, place the unpeeled oranges and water to cover in a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to low and leave the oranges to simmer for 2 hours, or until very soft and tender. Drain the oranges and leave to one side. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 and grease a 24cm loaf tin with butter and line the base with baking parchment. When the oranges are cool enough to handle, cut each in half and remove the seeds. Place everything but the seeds – peel, pith, fruit and all – in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Weigh out 450g of the chopped oranges and discard the remainder. Return the 450g chopped orange to the food processor and add the ground almonds, sugar, eggs, baking powder, ground cinnamon and ground ginger and process again until well mixed. Pour the batter into the tin. Place the tin in the oven and bake the cake for 1 hour, or until the cake is set and it comes away from the side of the tin. It is a moist cake, so you can’t test it
with a skewer. You’ll probably have to cover the top of the cake with kitchen foil, shiny side down, after about 40 minutes to stop it from burning. Remove the tin from the oven and leave the cake to cool completely in the tin on a wire rack. When the cake’s cool you can take it out of the tin and peel off the paper. Wrap the cake in kitchen foil and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. When you’re ready to serve, take the ice cream out of the freezer about 10 minutes in advance to soften just a
bit and reheat the plum sauce gently. Dust the cake with icing sugar and slice, then serve with the plum sauce and Christmas pudding ice cream on the side and sliced peeled oranges for decoration.
Tom’s Tip The plum sauce can be made 3 or 4 days in advance and kept in a covered container in the fridge. Reheat gently when ready to serve, letting it down with a little water, if necessary.
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Mulled cider At Christmas you could serve mulled wine, but I’m a proper West Country boy and mulled cider is more up my street. Get yourself a really good country cider – cloudy or clear; it doesn’t matter so long as it tastes great.
Makes 8 glasses 10 cardamom pods 4 star anise 3 fresh bay leaves 1 large cinnamon stick, broken in half 1 teaspoon black peppercorns 2 litres good cider 150g soft dark brown sugar 1 vanilla pod, split in half lengthways and the seeds scraped out 150ml dark rum thinly pared peel of 1 orange
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Tie the cardamom pods, star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and peppercorns together in a piece of muslin. Pour the cider into a large saucepan over a high heat. Add the brown sugar, vanilla seeds and pod and the muslin bag and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to low and leave the cider to simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Stir in the dark rum and orange peel. Remove the pan from the heat and serve.
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The perfect present for cooks this Christmas
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