Complete Christmas lunch
Your entire Christmas Day main course taken care of - a timeplan and recipes for the turkey, stuffing, roast potatoes, vegetables and bread sauce all in one
Difficulty and servings
Serves 8
Preparation and cooking times
Ready in 3 hrs + 30 mins
- Timeplan for lunch at 2pm: 10.30am Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Pat the turkey dry all over with kitchen paper. Mix the butter with plenty of seasoning and the smoked paprika, if using. Gently push your fingers under the turkey's skin, starting from the neck end of the bird, easing the skin away from the flesh until you can get your whole hand in. Spread the butter under the skin all over the breast then smooth the skin back into place, rub the excess butter on your hands over the skin. Push the lemon and onion halves in to the turkey cavity. Sprinkle the skin with salt flakes.
- 10.50am Put the turkey in a large roasting tin, put the shallots around the edge and tuck in the strips of lemon zest. Cover completely with foil, tucking under the tin to create a foil tent. Roast for 25 minutes per kg (1 hour 40 minutes for a 4kg bird).
- Make the stuffing by mixing the brioche with the pine nuts, apricots, thyme and skinless sausage. Season well. Press into a baking dish and cover with buttered foil.
- For the bread sauce, put the onion, bay peppercorns and milk in a pan and bring to a boil. Take off the heat, infuse for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring the potatoes to the boil and cook for 5 minutes, then drain and shake them in the colander to rough them up a bit.
- 12.30pm Remove the foil from the turkey, add the snipped chipolatas and turn the oven up to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Roast for a further 30 minutes until golden. Put a roasting tin with the oil or fat into the oven under the turkey for 5 minutes. Pull the other tin out of the oven and add the potatoes to the hot oil, then put it back under the turkey.
- Strain the bread sauce milk into a clean pan, add the breadcrumbs and bring to a simmer. Cook until the sauce thickens, add the butter and cream then season really well with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Keep warm.
- Take the turkey out and test: pierce the fattest part of the thigh, the juices should run clear. If they don't, then cook for 10 more minutes and check again - keep cooking until it is done. Move the potato tray up and put the stuffing in. Rest the turkey, covered loosely with foil and a towel while you cook everything else. Scoop out the shallots and put aside, then strain the juices for gravy.
- Put the carrots in a pan with a little water and the butter, bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 5-8 minutes, until just tender. Boil off excess water and add the lemon zest and lots of seasoning. Add parsley and keep warm.
- For the peas, heat the pancetta in a non-stick pan or until it starts to give up fat, turn up the heat and fry until golden. Add the peas and a splash of water, cover and cook for 3 minutes, shaking the pan. Boil off excess water. Season well and keep warm.
- Put the turkey tin on the hob, add back 2 tbsp fat from the juices (it should have separated off) and stir in the flour. Add the white wine and bring everything to a bubble, scraping any bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the stock, bring everything to a simmer, then tip in any turkey juices. Bubble then sieve into a warm jug. Tip in any more juices that run out turkey plus any that run out as you carve. Add any flavourings you like.
- Pull the potatoes out of the oven, dish up the veg and serve. Delegate someone to carve the turkey.
Recipe from olive magazine, January 2012.
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Ingredients
TURKEY WITH ROAST SHALLOTS
- 1 X 4kg turkey
- 100g butter
- 1 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
- 1 lemon , zest cut into strips, then halved
- 2 onions , halved
- salt flakes
- 400g shallots , peeled (this takes a while so do it the day before)
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 200ml white wine
- 300ml chicken stock
- Dijon mustard, redcurrant jelly or any flavouring you like to add to the gravy
ROAST POTATOES
- 1½kg potatoes , try Maris Piper, cut into evenly sized pieces
- 100ml olive oil , or 100g goose or duck fat
- sea salt flakes
STUFFING
- ½ brioche loaf, crust removed and bread cubed
- 3 tbsp pine nuts
- 12 dried apricots , chopped
- 4 sprigs thyme , leaves stripped off
- 12 chipolatas , 8 squeezed out of their skins, snip the remaining ones into 3
BREAD SAUCE
- 1 onion , halved and studded with 6 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 black peppercorns
- 600ml milk
- breadcrumbs made from the other half of the brioche loaf (200g in all)
- 50g butter
- 60ml double cream
- nutmeg
PARSLEY AND LEMON CARROTS
- 700g Chantenay carrots , trimmed
- 25g butter
- 1 lemon , zested
- a small bunch parsley , chopped to make 2 tbsp
PEAS WITH PANCETTA
- 2 x 50g tubs pancetta cubes
- 500g frozen peas
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Difficulty and servings
Serves 8
Preparation and cooking times
Ready in 3 hrs + 30 mins
Ingredients
TURKEY WITH ROAST SHALLOTS
- 1 X 4kg turkey
- 100g butter
- 1 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
- 1 lemon , zest cut into strips, then halved
- 2 onions , halved
- salt flakes
- 400g shallots , peeled (this takes a while so do it the day before)
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 200ml white wine
- 300ml chicken stock
- Dijon mustard, redcurrant jelly or any flavouring you like to add to the gravy
ROAST POTATOES
- 1½kg potatoes , try Maris Piper, cut into evenly sized pieces
- 100ml olive oil , or 100g goose or duck fat
- sea salt flakes
STUFFING
- ½ brioche loaf, crust removed and bread cubed
- 3 tbsp pine nuts
- 12 dried apricots , chopped
- 4 sprigs thyme , leaves stripped off
- 12 chipolatas , 8 squeezed out of their skins, snip the remaining ones into 3
BREAD SAUCE
- 1 onion , halved and studded with 6 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 black peppercorns
- 600ml milk
- breadcrumbs made from the other half of the brioche loaf (200g in all)
- 50g butter
- 60ml double cream
- nutmeg
PARSLEY AND LEMON CARROTS
- 700g Chantenay carrots , trimmed
- 25g butter
- 1 lemon , zested
- a small bunch parsley , chopped to make 2 tbsp
PEAS WITH PANCETTA
- 2 x 50g tubs pancetta cubes
- 500g frozen peas
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25 December 2011
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