HOW TO MAKE IT

1 Up to 48 hrs and at least 12 hrs before cooking, loosen the skin over the turkey breast so you can get your hands underneath it. Season the bird all over, including under the skin, with 2 tbsp sea salt. Put the turkey in a large roasting tin, breast-side up. Leave uncovered in the fridge until ready to cook.

2 Remove the turkey from the fridge at least 1 hr before cooking. Heat the oven to 240C/220C fan/gas 9. Melt the butter in a pan set over a low heat, then add the garlic, chopped herbs and lemon juice. Sizzle for 1 min, remove from the heat and leave to cool a little. Remove the turkey from the tin and scatter in the onions, carrots, turkey neck and giblets. Put a roasting rack, trivet or ovenproof cooling rack in or over the tray and sit the turkey on top. Stu the squeezed and whole lemons in the turkey cavity with the herb stalks and extra thyme. Lift the skin and spoon about 4 tbsp of the garlicky herb butter over the meat underneath, then massage the skin to spread it out. Brush most of the remaining butter all over the bird, reserving about 2 tbsp. For a neat finish, tie the wings and legs together.

3 Put the turkey in the oven and reduce the heat to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Roast for 1 hr, then remove from the oven and brush with more of the butter. Turn the tin around and return to the oven for another 30 mins. Brush again with the butter and roast for another 30 mins. After the turkey has had 2 hrs in total, check its temperature with a probe thermometer. It’s cooked perfectly when the thickest part of the breast reads about 65C and the thickest part of the thigh reads 75C. If the temperature is lower, return the turkey to the oven for periods of 15 mins until the temperature is reached. Cool for 10 mins on the rack, then transfer to a board and leave upside down – the turkey should rest for at least another 20 mins and will stay hot for at least 40 mins more.

4 We’ve Meanwhile, make the gravy. If the roasting

opted for the mild tin onion-like is flameproof, put it directly over a

lavour of leeks, medium as they’re heat. If not, scrape the contents into

in season and pair a beautifully large, shallow pan. Scatter over the flour and

with chicken. stir We’ve to make a paste. Add the soy sauce and

inely sliced them, yeast extract, stir, then pour so in the wine and they practically

melt into the combine sauce, to form a thick paste. Pour in the

but you can make stock even and turkey juices (if you aren’t already

more of them by cutting cooking them in the roasting tin). Simmer for

into chunks. about 5 mins, stirring to make a rich gravy. Strain into a jug or pan to reheat when needed. 5 Put the turkey on a platter, then serve with the gravy and other trimmings of your choice.

LOVELY LEEKS

PER SERVING (10) 623 kcals • fat 31g • saturates 13g • carbs 6g • sugars 2g • ibre 1g • protein 78g • salt 1.4g

BROWNING

Using an ovenproof rack or roasting ‘V’ rack is a great way of circulating the heat around the turkey, cooking it evenly and browning all over. If you don’t have one, turn the bird upside-down halfway

through cooking.

UMAMI GRAVY

Adding soy sauce, yeast extract and red wine to the gravy is unconventional, but gives great depth of lavour along with a rich mahogany colour.