INGREDIENTS

50g/2oz butter                                                                                                                                                    

sprig of fresh sage

12 strips of pancetta or thin streaky bacon

1 bulb of garlic broken into cloves

4 medium red onions, peeled

2 sticks of celery trimmed and chopped

A big handful of breadcrumbs

300g/10 and a half 0z of minced pork

zest of one lemon

pinch of nutmeg

1 large free range egg

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 small fresh rosemary sprigs plus a few extra

4-4.5kg/9-10 turkey free range or an organic one

2 carrots peeled

1 large orange

olive oil

2 tablespoons of plain flor

1.1litres/2 pints of chicken or vegetable stock

MAIN COURSE / SEVES 6-8

One of the hardest things about cooking a turkey is that the legs take longer to cook than the breast . The breast starts to dry out while your waiting for the legs to cook . I like to push some stuffing between the skin and the breast to increase the tickness of the turkey’s breast so that the legs and breast cook evenly.

Pre heat the oven to the maximum , heat a saucepan until it is medium hot and the drop in the butter , sage leaves and six of the pancetta or bacon strips . Peel and chop the garlic cloves and 1 onion . Add the garlic some chopped celery and the onion to the saucepan , fry everything untill soft and golden brown . Next you need to take the pan off of the heat add some breadcrumbs , while the mixture is cooling down chop the apricots roughly and stir them into the mixture . When the stuffing has cooled down add the pork and the lemon zest , nutmeg , egg and lots of salt and pepper mix everything together well.

Chop the remaining onions into half and slice the carrots thickly . Give your turkey a good wipe inside and out with some kitchen paper then place it onto a chopping bard making sure that the neck end of the turkey is towards you. Find the edge of the skin that covers the turkey’s breast, gently peel it back , gently work your fingers then your hands under the skin peeling it away from the meat . If you do this very carefully you should be able to pull all the skin away from the meat leaving it attached at the sides. Do this slowly and try not to make any holes , Lift the loose skin at the neck end and spoon the stuffing between the skin and brest then tuck the flap of skin underneath to stop the stuffing leaking out . 

Pop the orange into the microwave to warm it up for approximately 30 seconds and then pop it into the cavity of your turkey . The next step is to weigh your stuffed turkey to calculate the cooking time (approx 20 mins per 500g/1lb 2oz . Place your stuffed turkey into a roasting tin then rub it with olive oil and seasoning . Place the chpped carrots and onions and remaing garlic around the turkey in the tin and cover it with tin foil , then place the tin into the pre heated oven . Turn the heat down straight away to 180c /350f / gas mark 4 and cook for the calculated time or until the juces run clear in the thigh when pierced with a knive or a skewer .

Remove the tinfoil for the last 45 minutes of cooking time to brown the turkey off, carefully lift out the turkey from the oven after cookin and place on a serving plate to cool while you finish the veg and gravy . Skim the top of the fat from the roasting tin add some flour and stock , place the trat on to the top of the cooker and bring to the boil stiring at all times , when your gravy thickens strain into a bowl, carve your turkey , serve with the gravy and enjoy .