Ingredients
4.5 kg oven ready turkey
Lemons
Olive oil
Stuffing:
225g chestnuts
45 ml olive oil
1onion, peeled and finely chopped
Turkey giblets except for the neck
350g minced pork
150g long-grain rice
300 ml water
75g raisins or currants,
50g pine nuts/blanched shredded almonds
45 ml finely chopped fresh parsley
10 ml dried sage or thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Remove giblets from turkey and rinse them. Chop finely for stuffing.
Rinse and dry turkey and season inside and out with salt and pepper. Rub thoroughly with cut lemon and squeeze juice into cavity. Set aside.
Cut a small slit in pointed end of each chestnut, put them in pan with cold water to cover and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Drain, peel and roughly chop nuts.
Heat oil in medium sized pan and gently fry onion until soft but not colored. Add giblets and cook, stirring, until they change color. Add minced pork and stir until crumbly. Add rice and water and cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until water is absorbed and rice is half cooked. This will take 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and gently mix in raisins or currants, nuts, parsley and seasonings and chestnuts. Leave to cool.
Heat oven to 180C. Stuff neck cavity of turkey loosely with above stuffing. If there is any over, put it in a separate covered dish and cook it in the bottom of oven. Put bird breast up in roasting pan and pour 150 ml hot water into pan. Brush bird all over with olive oil and cover loosely with oiled foil. Roast for about 3 hours. Remove foil, baste bird with pan drippings and roast for another 30 minutes, until golden brown.
