Coeliac Gluten Free Turkey Recipe
Turkey means Christmas to many but it can be a battle to prepare and cook well so we’ve taken the fight out of the bird.
We stuffed and rolled the breast with a delicious filling of preserved lemon, herbs, nuts and plenty of butter which helps keep it moist. We’ve added prosciutto to our roll but if that’s not your thing, leave it out.
Preparing the turkey breast is pretty straight forward, however, you can make life really easy and take your stuffing mixtures up to your friendly butcher and ask him/her to do it for you.
All that’s left is to throw it in the oven, turn on the timer and have a glass of Christmas cheer.
Caren, Jan and Rosie
ROAST TURKEY ROLL WITH PRESERVED LEMON
Serves 10
1.8 kg turkey breast fillet
5 golden shallots
2 teaspoons olive oil plus extra for brushing
250 gm unsalted butter at room temperature
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup finely chopped preserved lemon (discard flesh and use rinsed skin only)
1 cup coriander, finely chopped
1 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
40 gm toasted pistachios, finely chopped
20 gm toasted pinenuts, finely chopped
20 gm toasted almonds, finely chopped
½ teaspoon chilli flakes
2 teaspoons lemon juice
100 gm prosciutto, finely sliced (optional)
1 tablespoon white wine or verjuice
1 cup chicken stock
Toss the shallots with the oil and gently fry for 10-15 minutes until cooked through. Cool and finely dice.
Combine the butter with the diced shallots, garlic, preserved lemon and herbs. Season with salt and pepper and remove 3 tablespoons to use under the skin of the breast. Add the nuts, chilli flakes and lemon juice to the mixture.
If you don’t want to manage the stuffing and rolling of the turkey yourself or you can ask your friendly butcher to do it for you, just remember to take your stuffing mixtures with you.
To stuff the turkey, lie the turkey breast, skin side down, on a board and slice down through centre of the fillet without cutting completely through. Cut horizontally from the centre through the meat to either side, without cutting through, creating two flaps which can be opened out like a book. Cover with plastic wrap and using a meat mallet, vigorously pound the breast to flatten it out.
Remove the plastic wrap and turn the breast over so the skin side faces up. Gently lift some of the skin and spread the reserved butter and preserved lemon mix under the skin.
Turn the breast over again so the flesh side faces up and cover with the prosciutto if using. Spread the herb/butter mixture over leaving a 2cm border all round. Roll up tightly and secure with string.
The recipe can be done to this point the day before and refrigerated. Remove turkey roll from the fridge at least 40 minutes before cooking.
Preheat oven to 200°C.
Place the turkey roll in a baking dish, skin side up. Rub the skin with a little olive oil. Pour the white wine or verjuice and chicken stock into the baking dish. Place a piece of baking paper directly on to the roll then tightly cover the baking dish with a well-fitting lid or foil.
Bake for 1 hour or until a metal skewer inserted into the centre of the roll comes out very warm to the touch.
Briefly brown the skin under the grill if necessary.
Transfer the cooking juices to a jug, straining off excess fat.
Cover the turkey roll and allow to rest for 15 minutes before removing the string and slicing. Drizzle with a few tablespoons of the cooking juices and serve the rest separately.