Perfect pancetta & roast shallot-stuffed turkey

Bacon basted turkey breast means it stays beautifully moist. You can use red or white onions instead of shallots, but you will need to cut them into wedges.

Serves 8 Prep 30 mins plus two days salting and 1 hr resting Cook 3 hrs 30 mins-4 hrs

5-51/2kg oven-ready turkey, neck and giblets removed (save them to make stock, if you like)

1 pack smoked sliced pancetta or

streaky bacon (about 14 rashers) 1 tbsp olive oil

FOR THE BUTTER

1 large garlic clove

1 tbsp thyme leaves

1 lemon, zested

85g butter, softened

FOR THE SHALLOTS

400g shallots, peeled small handful thyme sprigs, plus extra chopped thyme leaves to serve (optional) handful bay leaves, plus extra to

serve (optional) lemon halves (from the zested lemon)

1 Up to two days ahead, season the bird all over with flaky sea salt, inside and out and under the skin. Leave, breast-side up, in the fridge for up to two days. Weigh the turkey and calculate the cooking time by allowing 40 mins per kg for the first 4kg, then 45 mins for every kg of turkey over that weight. A turkey this size should take 31/2-4 hrs plus 30-45 mins resting.

2 To make the butter, crush the garlic and mix in the thyme, lemon zest and a pinch of salt, then beat in the butter. Can be prepared up to two days ahead and chilled.

3 Starting from the neck, gently push your fingers under the skin of the turkey until you can push your whole hand in down the length of the breast – take care not to tear the skin. Spread the butter

under the skin so that it covers the breast meat, reserving and chilling 1 tbsp butter for the shallots. Lay the pancetta or bacon on your work surface in two rectangles of six overlapping slices and carefully push each rectangle of pancetta under the skin to cover and protect each breast. This can be done the night before, but take the turkey out the fridge 1 hr before roasting so that it comes up to room temperature. 4 On the day, heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Tip the whole shallots into a bowl with the thyme, bay and remaining 1 tbsp butter, softened, season and toss to coat. Lift the turkey into a roasting tin, massage the olive oil into the skin and season. Tip the shallots into the roasting tin around the turkey and stuff the lemon halves into the cavity. Cover the tin loosely with foil and roast for the calculated cooking time. For the final 30 mins, remove the foil and pour off all of the cooking juices (reserve for the gravy). Spoon the shallots into the cavity, increase the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and roast for 30 mins until the turkey is golden and the thigh juices run clear when pierced with a skewer, or a digital cooking thermometer reads at least 65C. 5 Rest the turkey on a warm platter covered with foil for up to 1 hr. If you want to make gravy, pour the fat off the juices and add to the gravy (see p26 for the recipe). To serve, decorate with the herbs, if using, and bring the whole turkey to the table to carve.

PER SERVING 401 kcals, fat 23g, saturates 9g, carbs 1g, sugars 1g, fibre 0.7g, protein 47g, salt 1.1g