Middle Eastern roast turkey
Spice up the festive table with this smart alternative to traditional roast turkey
Difficulty and servings
Serves 8-10
Preparation and cooking times
Prep 30 mins
Cook 4 hrs 30 mins
- Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.Mix the butter with the lemon and season well. Gently push your fingers under the turkey's skin, starting from the neck end of the bird, easing the skin away from the flesh over both the breast and tops of the drumsticks - you'll have to slide your whole hand in to reach this far. Spread the lemon butter under the skin, pushing it as far in as you can, then smooth the skin back into place. Put the onion halves and bay leaves in the turkey cavity.
- Mix the spices and thyme with the pomegranate molasses, if using, orange zest and enough oil to make a brushable paste. Brush all over the turkey breast. Push the halved orange and cinnamon sticks into the turkey.
- Arrange the sliced onion in the bottom of a large roasting tin to act as a trivet for the bird and pour in the wine. Sit the turkey on top and cover both the bird and tin completely with foil to make a tent. Cook the turkey for 40 minutes per kilo, basting once or twice.
- Take out the turkey and turn up the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Remove the foil and return to the oven for a further 30 minutes or until the skin is golden. To test if it is cooked, pierce the fattest part of the thigh with a skewer - the juices that run out should be clear and not pink; keep cooking if the juices are pink and check again after each 10 minutes. If you like your turkey meat almost falling off the bones, test by wiggling the leg - it should give slightly if the meat is ready to come away from the bones.
- Rest the turkey, covered loosely with foil, for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour before serving.
- To make the gravy, pour away any excess fat from the roasting tin but keep the onion slices - a fat separator will help with this. Set the tin over a medium heat, then sprinkle over the flour. Stir through and cook for 2 minutes, turning the onion over in the mixture to extract the flavour. Slowly stir in the wine, stock and juices and add a pinch of each spice and a squeeze of orange juice. Bring to a boil, scraping bits from the bottom, then simmer over a low heat for 15 minutes. Season and sieve into a jug. Serve with the turkey.
PER SERVING (8)
851 kcalories, protein 105.1g, carbohydrate 14.7g, fat 41.7 g, saturated fat 15.7g, fibre 1.9g, salt 0.94 g
Recipe from olive magazine, December 2010.
Leave a comment or suggestion
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/896657/
Your binder
Sign up or sign in to receive a £60 wine voucher, and to save, rate and comment on recipes. Plus, get our newsletter.
Ingredients
- 1 oven-ready turkey , about 6kg
- 125g butter
- 1 lemon , zested and halved
- 2 large onions , peeled, 1 halved and 1 thickly sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp of a mix of ground cinnamon , ground cumin and sweet paprika
- 1 sprig thyme , leaves pulled off and finely chopped
- ½ tbsp pomegranate molasses (optional)
- 1 orange , zested and halved
- olive oil
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 glasses white wine
FOR THE GRAVY
- 1 tbsp flour
- 200ml white wine or red wine
- 600ml chicken stock
- pinch each of ground cinnamon , ground cumin and sweet paprika
- squeeze of orange juice
Buy ingredients
Search Good Food
Green beans with golden almond butter
Want to give your Christmas feast a spicy edge? Why not try this side with a twist
3
ratings
An alternative to baked stuffing, this jewel-encrusted festive side looks stunning on the Christmas table
4
ratings
A Middle Eastern-inspired side dish of baby aubergines with cumin, coriander and smoked paprika
2
ratings
Difficulty and servings
Serves 8-10
Preparation and cooking times
Prep 30 mins
Cook 4 hrs 30 mins
Ingredients
- 1 oven-ready turkey , about 6kg
- 125g butter
- 1 lemon , zested and halved
- 2 large onions , peeled, 1 halved and 1 thickly sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp of a mix of ground cinnamon , ground cumin and sweet paprika
- 1 sprig thyme , leaves pulled off and finely chopped
- ½ tbsp pomegranate molasses (optional)
- 1 orange , zested and halved
- olive oil
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 glasses white wine
FOR THE GRAVY
- 1 tbsp flour
- 200ml white wine or red wine
- 600ml chicken stock
- pinch each of ground cinnamon , ground cumin and sweet paprika
- squeeze of orange juice
PER SERVING (8)
851 kcalories, protein 105.1g, carbohydrate 14.7g, fat 41.7 g, saturated fat 15.7g, fibre 1.9g, salt 0.94 g
Advertisement
Your binder
Here are three other great reasons why to sign up:
- You get an online binder, where you can store all your favourite recipes and create menus.
Latest comments and suggestions
30 December 2010
Juliet rated and commented on this recipe
Flag as inappropriate
Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.
17 February 2011
Beth rated and commented on this recipe
Flag as inappropriate
Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.