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Phil Vickery's saffron turkey with wild rice and cranberry stuffing

Phil Vickery's saffron turkey with wild rice and cranberry stuffing

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This simple and delicious all-in-one turkey recipe by TV chef, Phil Vickery, is bound to be a real crowd pleaser on Christmas Day

Prep time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 3 hrs 22 mins
(based on a 5.6k turkey)
Total time: 3 hrs 52 mins
Serves: 12
Skill level: Bit of effort
Costs: Mid-price

Ingredients

For the stuffing:

1 tbsp olive oil
50g butter
2 onions, chopped
2 large sprigs rosemary, leaves only, chopped
100g cooked wild and long grain rice
50g dried cranberries
100g dried apricots, roughly chopped
175g fresh white breadcrumbs
6 good quality pork and herb sausages, skinned
1 lemon, finely grated rind
1 egg, beaten

For the turkey:

5.6kg British turkey, thawed if frozen, giblets removed
1 lemon, halved
1 bay leaf
50g butter
1/2 tsp saffron threads

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Method

Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan and fry the onion and rosemary for 5-6 mins. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining stuffing ingredients until well combined. Season.
Preheat the oven to 190ºC/gas 5. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, stir in the saffron threads and leave to cool slightly.
Push some of the stuffing into the neck end of the bird packing it right up to the breast meat. Secure the neck skin with cocktail sticks. Roll the remaining stuffing into balls (these can be cooked separately for 30 mins)
Weigh the turkey and calculate the cooking time at 20 mins per kg + 90 mins at the end. Push the lemon halves and bayleaf into the cavity and place in a roasting tin. Brush the whole bird with the saffron butter and season well. Cover with foil and roast. Remove the foil and baste with any remaining saffron butter and roast uncovered for the last hour of cooking time. To check to see if the turkey is cooked push a metal skewer into the thickest part of the leg - if the juices run clear the turkey is cooked if the juices are slightly pink pop back into the oven for a further 15 mins before checking again. Cover with foil and allow to rest for 20-30 mins before carving.

By Phil Vickery

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Nutritional information per portion

Calories 458(kcal)

This nutritional information is only a guide and is based on 2,000 calories per day. For more information on eating a healthy diet, please visit the Food Standards Agency website.

Guideline Daily Amount for 2,000 calories per day are: 70g fat, 20g saturated fat, 90g sugar, 6g salt.