ROAST TURKEY WITH HERB STUFFING

(Pictured above) Serves 8–16, depending on the size of your turkey.

You will need:

150g (5oz) butter 300g (10oz) chopped onion Salt and freshly ground black pepper 350g (12oz) soft white breadcrumbs 6 large tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs (eg parsley, thyme, chives, tarragon and marjoram) 1 turkey, approx 4kg-5 kg (10lb-12lb) in weight 25g (1oz) soft butter 1 level tablespoon flour 250ml (9fl oz) chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas 4.

Next, make the stuffing. Put the 150g (5oz) of butter in a saucepan on a medium heat, add the chopped onion, and season it with some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover the chopped onion with a butter wrapper if you have one (see Festive Tip One, above left), then cover the saucepan with a lid and cook the onion gently in the butter until it is soft — about 8-10 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat, then stir in the soft white breadcrumbs and the finely chopped fresh herbs. Season again with some salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Allow the stuffing to cool completely.

Next, stuff the turkey by spooning the stuffing into the cavity at the leg end, although you might also want to put a little bit of stuffing in the cavity at the neck end, too. Make sure not to overstuff the bird — you should be able to push the handle of a wooden spoon in under the breast. Spread the 25g (1oz) of soft butter on the breast and the legs of the turkey and season it with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Weigh the bird and calculate the cooking time (allow 20

minutes for every 500g (1lb 2oz) plus 20 minutes extra). To cook the turkey, put it in the preheated oven. When the skin is good and golden, cover it with some foil or butter wrappers to prevent it from drying out.

To check whether the turkey is fully cooked, pull the leg slightly; if it feels slightly loose from the carcass, then the bird is cooked.

Once the turkey is cooked, remove it from the oven, transfer it to a carving board, cover it with tinfoil and allow it to rest somewhere warm for at least 30 minutes.

However, if you don’t need your oven for cooking other things, you can just turn the oven off and allow the turkey to rest inside.

To make the gravy, spoon off the surplus fat and keep the juices in the roasting tray, then place the roasting tray on a medium heat.

Whisk the level tablespoon of flour into the juices in the tray and cook for a minute, then pour the chicken stock into the tray and use a whisk to dissolve all the caramelised juices that are left in the tray. Allow the gravy to boil, and season it to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer the gravy to a saucepan — if you want it to be a bit stronger in flavour, boil it for another minute or so, uncovered, until it has reduced a bit. Reheat it when it’s needed.