Rosemary glazed turkey crown with chestnut and cranberry stuffing

Serves: 8
Course: Main Course
Cooking Time: 1 hr 15 mins
Ingredients
  • 1.5kg (3lb) boned turkey crown
  • For the rub/glaze:
  • 40ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp fresh sage finely chopped
  • Salt and pepper, to season
  • 2tbsp runny honey
  • For the stuffing:
  • 60g butter
  • 1 red onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 50g dried cranberries
  • 50g dried apricots
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 175g fresh white breadcrumbs
  • 75g ready cooked and peeled chestnuts, chopped
  • 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 225g sausage meat (optional)
  • salt and pepper, to taste

To make the stuffing, gently heat the butter in a pan and sweat the onion and garlic for four minutes until soft but not browned. Add the cranberries, apricots, lemon zest and juice. Cook until soft, and remove from the heat. In a large bowl, mix remaining stuffing ingredients with the onions. Season to taste

To make the rosemary rub/glaze: In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, rosemary, sage, honey, black pepper and salt. For best results, mix with an electric blender. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees/ 180 fan/gas 6. Open out the turkey, skin side down. Put the stuffing down the centre and fold over each side of the turkey to enclose it. Tie up with four to six pieces of string. Any leftover stuffing can be made into stuffing balls and cooked separately.

Place the turkey in a roasting tin and brush over the rub/glaze. Using your hands, spread a generous amount of the rosemary mixture under the breast skin.

Roast for about one hour and a quarter, basting occasionally, then transfer to a platter. Cover with foil for 20-30 minutes, and keep it in a warm spot. You’ll need to allow about 40 minutes of cooking per kg of weight, including the stuffing.

Garnish with parsley and serve with the red berry salsa.