TURKEY RECIPES HEALTHY RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to maximum. Heat a saucepan until medium hot and add a splash of olive oil. Pick the sage leaves and add to the pan with 6 of the pancetta or bacon strips.
  2. Peel and chop 2 garlic cloves and 1 onion. Trim and chop the celery and add to the pan with the garlic and onion. Fry everything gently until soft and golden brown. Take the pan off the heat, add the breadcrumbs and, while the mix is cooling down, roughly chop the apricots and stir them in.
  3. When the stuffing has cooled down, add the pork, lemon zest, nutmeg, egg and lots of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and mix everything together well. Slice the remaining strips of pancetta or bacon in half and peel and slice 1 peeled garlic clove into thin slivers. Place a rosemary sprig and a garlic sliver on one end of a halved strip of pancetta and roll it up tightly. Repeat with the other pieces of pancetta until you have 12 little rolls.
  4. Stab the thighs and drumsticks of the turkey in 6 places on each side. Push a little pancetta roll into each hole until it just peeps out. This will give your turkey thighs a fantastic flavour and will keep them moist while they cook.
  5. Peel the remaining onions and chop in half, and peel and thickly slice the carrots.
  6. Give your turkey a good wipe, inside and out, with kitchen paper, and place it on a board, with the neck end towards you. Find the edge of the skin that's covering the turkey's breasts and gently peel it back. Work your fingers and then your hand under the skin, freeing it from the meat. If you're careful you should be able to pull all the skin away from the meat, keeping it attached at the sides. Go slowly and try not to make any holes!
  7. Lift the loose skin at the neck end and spoon the stuffing between the skin and the breast, tucking the flap of skin underneath to stop anything leaking out. Pop the orange in the microwave for 30 seconds to warm it up and stuff it into the cavity.
  8. Weigh the stuffed turkey and calculate the cooking time (about 20 minutes per 500g/1lb 2oz).
  9. Place the bird on a large roasting tray, rub it all over with olive oil and season well. Surround with the chopped carrots, onions and remaining cloves of garlic, cover with tin foil and place in the preheated oven. Turn the heat down right away to 180°C/350°F/gas 4 and roast for the calculated time, or until the juices run clear from the thigh if you pierce it with a knife or a skewer. Remove the tin foil for the last 45 minutes to brown the bird.
  10. Carefully lift the turkey out of the tray and rest on a board covered loosely with foil for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours for bigger birds.
  11. When the resting time's nearly up, skim off the surface fat from the roasting tray and add the flour and stock. Place the tray on the hob and bring to the boil on a high heat. When the gravy starts to thicken, strain it into a bowl.
  12. Carve your turkey, serve with the gravy and dig in!

Steps:

• 1. To start the dumplings, roughly chop the bacon and place in a large frying pan on a medium-low heat to crisp up while you wash, trim and finely slice the leeks.
  2. Stir them into the pan with 1 tablespoon of oil, then cook for 15 minutes, or until soft and sweet, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
  3. Meanwhile, for the stew, peel the onions, trim the celery, then roughly chop both and place in a large, wide casserole pan on a medium heat with 2 tablespoons of oil (or even better, use turkey dripping to intensify the flavours).
  4. Add the herb sprigs and bay, and cook for 15 minutes, or until soft but not coloured, stirring regularly. Stir in the mustard and flour for 2 minutes, then gradually stir in the stock to make a nice thick sauce.
  5. Crumble in the leftover stuffing and turn the heat off. Scoop out and discard the herb sprigs and bay leaves, then shred the turkey or chicken meat, stir it into your stew, taste, and season to perfection.
  6. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
  7. Place the flours in a large bowl. Dice and add the butter, then use your thumbs and forefingers to rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.
  8. Make a well in the middle, pour in the buttermilk, then gradually mix into the crumbs, bringing them in from the outside. Stir in the cooled leeks and bacon until just combined, but don’t overwork it – we want the dough as light as possible.
  9. Gently roll it out on a clean flour-dusted surface until 2cm thick, then use a 5cm fluted cutter to stamp out as many round dumplings as you can, re-rolling and using up any offcuts – you should get at least 12 from this amount.
  10. Brush the dumplings with beaten egg, then sit them on top of the stew.
  11. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the dumplings are risen and golden and the stew is blipping and bubbling away nicely. Delicious with simple steamed greens.