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Turkey with pan-roasted vegetables, muscat-glazed onions and spiced oranges

Australian Gourmet Traveller Christmas recipe for turkey with pan-roasted vegetables, muscat-glazed onions and spiced oranges.

By Lisa Featherby
  • 40 mins preparation
  • 2 hrs 20 mins cooking plus standing, cooling
  • Serves 10
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Turkey with pan-roasted vegetables, muscat-glazed onions and spiced oranges
Opt for the best-quality free-range turkey you can find. You'll need to begin this recipe a day ahead.

Ingredients

  • 1 free-range turkey (about 4kg), brought to room temperature
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 15 small red sonic or red rascal potatoes (see note), scored
  • 2 bunches Dutch carrots (about 20)
  • 20 small organic yellow squash
Spiced orange
  • 1 kg thin-skinned oranges (about 4)
  • 1 kg white sugar
  • 350 ml white wine vinegar
  • 1 cinnamon quill
Herb butter
  • 250 gm softened butter
  • 1 bunch each thyme, rosemary and sage, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup (firmly packed) flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Old-school stuffing
  • 250 gm each minced veal and pork
  • 200 gm coarse sourdough breadcrumbs
  • 200 gm bacon, finely chopped
  • 100 gm softened butter
  • 1 onion, coarsely grated
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 bunch sage, finely chopped
Muscat-glazed onions
  • 24 red salad onions, trimmed, leaving 2cm of stem (see note)
  • 20 gm butter
  • 1 tbsp pure icing sugar
  • 125 ml muscat

Method

Main
  • 1
    For spiced oranges, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil over high heat, add oranges, bring back to the boil, cover and simmer over low heat until just tender (10 minutes). Remove oranges with a slotted spoon and stand in a bowl until cool enough to handle, then cut horizontally into 5mm slices. Meanwhile, combine sugar, vinegar, cinnamon and 100ml water in a separate saucepan and boil for 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Add orange slices, bring to the boil, simmer over medium heat until translucent (4 minutes), remove from heat, cool and stand overnight covered with plastic wrap. Remove plastic wrap, bring back to the boil over medium-high heat, simmer over low-medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer orange slices to a 1 litre-capacity sterilised jar. Bring syrup to the boil over medium-high heat and cook for 2 minutes, pour syrup over sliced oranges to cover, then seal jar. Oranges will keep refrigerated for 2 months.
  • 2
    Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200C. For herb butter, combine ingredients in a bowl, season to taste and set aside.
  • 3
    For old-school stuffing, combine ingredients in a bowl, season to taste and set aside.
  • 4
    Rinse turkey inside and out, pat dry with absorbent paper. Carefully separate skin from breast meat and thighs by running your fingers under skin, keeping skin intact, then evenly distribute herb butter under skin, smoothing as you go. Place stuffing in body and neck cavities and tie legs with kitchen string. Place turkey on a wire rack placed over a roasting pan, brush with olive oil, season to taste, place in oven, reduce heat to 180C, roast until golden (45 minutes). Add potatoes to pan, roast until potatoes are tender and turkey is cooked through (another 1-1¼ hours), adding remaining vegetables to pan during last 25 minutes of cooking (cover turkey with foil if skin becomes too dark).
  • 5
    Meanwhile, for muscat-glazed onions, combine onions, butter and icing sugar in a wide, deep-sided frying pan and stir occasionally over medium-high heat until golden (3-5 minutes), add muscat and and cook, covered, until onion is tender (8-10 minutes). Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with turkey, pan-roasted vegetables and spiced oranges.

Notes

Note If red sonic and red rascal potatoes are unavailable, substitute baby Desiree potatoes. If red salad onions are unavailable, substitute white salad onions.

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  • undefined: Lisa Featherby