Rosemary Conley's roast turkey & parsley stuffing

Method

1. Make the stuffing by dry-frying the leeks in a preheated non-stick pan until soft. Spoon into a mixing bowl, then mix in the remaining ingredients, adding a little boiling water from a kettle. Put aside and leave to cool.
2. Weigh the turkey and calculate the cooking time from the instructions given (allow 15 minutes per 450g plus an extra 20 minutes) or use our turkey timer. Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5.
3. Rinse the turkey well under running cold water and pat dry with kitchen paper. Place the prepared stuffing under the skin, then fold the skin over to keep the stuffing in place.
4. Place the head of celery on a wire rack and sit the turkey on top.
5. Cut the onion into wedges and arrange around the turkey.
6. Place the wire rack over the roasting tin and pour 600ml water into the tin, around the rack.
7. Cover with foil and roast in the oven, basting occasionally with the juices.
8. Remove the turkey from the oven and allow to rest for 5-15 mins before carving.
9. Garnish with redcurrants and serve with a selection of side dishes.

Low-fat gravy: Drain the meat juices from the turkey into a gravy separator. Allow the juices to stand and settle as the fat separates out. Then drain off the meat juices from the bottom of the gravy separator into a saucepan. Add more water (or vegetable stock) if required and thicken with a little gravy powder. Serve hot alongside the turkey.

How to carve the turkey: Allow the roast joint to rest before carving for about 5-15 mins, depending on its size. This allows the meat to reabsorb the juices released during cooking and give an even surface when sliced. It's best to cut across the grain of the meat. The more tender the cut, the thicker the slices should be. Always carve with the blade of the knife facing away from you and use long cutting strokes the full length of the knife.

This recipe is taken from Rosemary Conley's new book Slim to Win: Diet and Cookbook available from Amazon.