Marsala-poached turkey

• Christmas lunch
• Marsala-poached turkey
• Side dishes
• Celebration Saturnalia dessert

SERVES 12-16
FOR THE TURKEY
5·5kg Bronze turkey or other fresh turkey (not frozen), ideally outdoor raised, trussed
1 red onion, halved
250g stale bread, cubed
30g (total weight) parsley, thyme and tarragon, de-stalked and snipped
2 shallots, sliced
1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt
1⁄2 teaspoon ground white or black pepper
12 dried apricots, snipped
25g fresh ginger, sliced thinly then shredded

FOR THE SAUCE
120ml chicken bouillon concentrate or 2 chicken stock cubes, crumbled
4 shakes Worcestershire sauce
450ml dry Marsala
1 head garlic, halved crosswise
200g redcurrant jelly, chopped or mashed
3 tablespoons arrowroot
8 or 12 tiny bunches of fresh table grapes
Bunch of fresh parsley, bay and thyme, and rocket leaves to garnish

Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 6 (200°C, 400°F). Remove the giblets from the turkey and push the onion halves inside the cavity, without untying the trussing strings. Remove the fat inside the vent and snip into small pieces. Put the fat strips, bread, herbs, shallots, seasoning, apricots and half the ginger into a food processor. Whizz in 40-second bursts to create a crumbly stuffing. Turn the bird onto its breast. Loosen the trussing strings enough to fill the neck cavity neatly with stuffing. Secure again, and fasten using a wooden cocktail stick, ensuring that the ends are well tucked in. Slide the bird into an extra-large oven-roasting bag, breast first, and set in the roasting pan, breast up. Put the bouillon or crumbled cubes, Worcestershire sauce and Marsala into a measuring jug, and make up to a litre with boiling water. Add the remaining ginger and stir. Holding the bag ends open, pour in the warm liquid. Seal the bag completely and tie tightly with string. Put the garlic halves, cut sides down, in the pan around the bagged turkey (these will help to prevent the bag from sticking). Pour in about 1cm of boiling water around the outside to create a bain-marie. Cook in the oven for 1 hour, then reduce the heat to Gas Mark 5 (190°C, 375°F) for a further 2-21⁄2 hours until the bird is golden and the wings look and feel very tender when gently prodded through the bag (this gentler style of cooking takes longer than roasting). Remove the pan from the oven. Pour off the garlicky water. Cut open the bag and discard the bag and string. Pour the poaching liquid into a heat-proof measuring jug; there should be about 800ml. Return the bird to the oven to continue cooking. Meanwhile, pour the poaching liquid into a large saucepan and hard-boil it down, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until roughly reduced by half. Add the jelly, stir and cook until dissolved. Mix the arrowroot with 8 tablespoons of cold water, stirring until smooth. Whisk this into the Marsala broth and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until a glossy and thick glaze forms. Test the bird is done by piercing one leg joint and holding a spoon underneath; juices should run clear gold, not pink. Pour the glaze all over the bird. Turn off the oven. Leave the bird to rest, with the oven door ajar, for 10 minutes. To serve, set the glazed bird on a heated platter, garnished with small grape bunches, herbs and rocket leaves. Reheat any remaining Marsala glaze and serve as gravy.

Cheat's bread sauce
Forget endless simmering of onions studded with cloves – this is an easy way to make and enjoy bread sauce, and it takes just 5 minutes.

SERVES 8-12
350 g stale white crustless bread
1 teaspoon sea-salt crystals
4 white peppercorns
4 cloves
1⁄2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1⁄2 dried bay leaf, crumbled
550 ml creamy milk
10 cm piece white portion of leek, finely sliced, crosswise
20-25 g knob of salted butter

Tear the bread directly into a food processor and process continuously for 45 seconds to create crumbs. Put the salt, pepper, cloves, nutmeg and bay into a mortar and pound to a fine grit. Add to the crumbs. Bring the milk to the boil and add the leeks and butter. Pour into the processor with the machine running, processing for 1 minute. Pour the thickened sauce into a sauce jug or dish and serve hot, warm or cold.

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