ROAST TURKEY WITH VEGETABLES RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat your oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5. Bring two large pans of salted water to the boil.
  2. Scrub the beets, then place in one of the pans - keep them separate to stop the rest of your veg turning red! Parboil for 20 to 25 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, peel the carrots and parsnips, then chop any bigger ones in half along with the turnips. Trim and quarter the fennel.
  4. Place the prepped veg together in the second pan and parboil for 10 minutes. Drain all the veg and leave to steam dry, then separate them out so you can hit them with those different flavours.
  5. Toss the beets with the balsamic vinegar and whole herb sprigs.
  6. Toss the carrots with the clementine juice and throw in the squeezed halves, then pick over the rosemary leaves.
  7. Toss the parsnips with the vinegar and tear over the sage leaves. Reserve the honey for later.
  8. Toss the turnips with the vinegar and bay.
  9. Toss the fennel with the lemon juice, then pick over the thyme leaves.
  10. Lay them out on a large tray, keeping each veg type together. If you're making this ahead, you can get up to this stage the day before, then cover them with tin foil and keep them with your spuds till your turkey is resting. Nothing will discolour because of the oil and acid.
  11. Roast for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until golden, crispy and beautiful. About 5 minutes before the veg are ready, drizzle the honey over the parsnips.
  12. Once ready, give the tray a jiggle, then pile the veg on a platter.

Steps:

• GET AHEAD 1. Check the main turkey cavity for the bag of giblets; if they’re in there, remove and tip them into your roasting tray, discarding the bag. The added flavour they’ll give your gravy will be incredible – trust me. 2. Peel the onions, wash the carrots and roughly chop with the celery or the leek tops, then add to the tray with the unpeeled garlic cloves. 3. Place your stuffing in the neck cavity, then pull the skin back over it and tuck it under the bird. You’ll get a good contrast between the soft, juicy stuffing here inside the turkey, and the crispier stuff you can bake separately in a dish. 4. Place the softened butter on a board and press down with your hands. Pick over 3 sprigs of thyme, finely zest ½ a clementine and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and scrunch all together to make your flavoured butter. 5. Halve the clementines and place in the main turkey cavity with the remaining thyme – not filling it too full allows hot air to circulate, cooking the bird from the inside out and from the outside in. 6. Get your turkey and use a spatula to work your way between the skin and the meat. Start at the side of the cavity just above the leg and work gently up towards the breastbone and towards the back so you create a large cavity. Pick up your butter and push it into the cavity you’ve created. Use your hands to push it through the skin right to the back so it coats the breast meat as evenly as possible. Do the same on the other side. 7. Drizzle the turkey all over with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and generously sprinkle from all sides with salt and pepper. 8. Cover the turkey snugly with tin foil and place it on top of the trivet in the tray. ON THE DAY 1. Take your turkey out of the fridge 1 hour before it’s due to go in the oven. 2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. 3. You want to cook a higher-welfare bird for 25 to 30 minutes per kg and a standard bird is 35 to 40 minutes per kg. For a 4kg bird, pop it in the oven for 1 hour 40 minutes, basting several times with all the lovely juices in the tray and covering with foil when beautifully golden brown. 4. The simplest way to check it’s cooked is to stick a knife into the thickest part of the thigh – if the juices run clear, it’s done. 5. Use heavy-duty tongs to lift up your bird so all the juices run from the cavity into the tray, then transfer the turkey to a platter and leave to rest for up to 2 hours while you crack on. You can cover it with a double layer of tin foil and a clean tea towel to keep warm, if you like. 6. Skim away the fat from the turkey tray, save it in a jar, and leave to cool. When cold, transfer to the fridge for cooking with at a later date. CARVING THE TURKEY 1. Once the turkey has rested, it’s time to carve. There are two ways you can do this. - The first method is to remove the wings, slice the skin beside the legs, then pull out and chop the legs off. You can either slice or pull this brown meat – it’s so tasty. Keep it warm while you move on to the breast meat. Use the full length of the knife in a nice smooth action to slice through the breast meat, transferring it to a platter as you go. - Alternatively, remove the leg as above, then feel where the backbone is and cut with the length of your knife all the way down beside it until you hit the carcass. You can then lift the whole breast off the bone. Remove to a board and slice.