Roast Turkey with a Truffled Herb Butter, Citrus Breadcrumbs and Winter Vegetables

Serves 6 - 8

INGREDIENTS:

Turkey Preparation
1 x 5kg Turkey
1 large onion, peeled and halved
1 orange, halved
1 head garlic, halved
2 bay leaves
2 x sprigs Thyme
250g butter
½ bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 x sprigs thyme, chopped
½ bunch tarragon, chopped
1 x black truffle


Toasted Citrus Breadcrumbs
½ loaf stale bread, made into crumbs
1 orange, zest
1 lemon, zest and juice
50g pancetta
½ onion , diced
2x sprigs thyme
300g pine kernels
200g butter

Vegetables
2 litres vegetable stock
16 small carrots
sprig thyme
half head garlic
bay leaf
16-20 charlotte potatoes
2 tbsp duck fat
700g Brussels sprouts
80g toasted flaked almonds
Salt and pepper
Butter
Olive oil

METHOD:

Pre-heat the oven to 220c.

Allow your butter to soften to room temperature.

Open up the cavity of the bird and stuff with half the onion, half the orange and half the garlic. Season with a little salt and repeat. Finally stuff in 2 bay leaves and the thyme. Season inside the bird well and tuck the legs under the neck skin to secure - tie in place if necessary.

Chop the parsley, thyme and tarragon and mix into the softened butter. Finely slice the truffle and roughly chop before adding to the herb butter. Season well. With your hand, gently feel your way between the skin on the breast of the bird and the meat itself. You want to open the space so you can fill it with the butter. Repeat with the skin on the legs - from the lower side of the breast feel your way under the skin and out towards the leg, loosen the gap.

Fill a piping bag with the butter and gently pipe into the opened spaces under the skin. From the outside of the skin, gently massage the butter around the meat so it is well, and evenly covered.

Place the Turkey breast side up on it's baking tray, season well with salt and pepper before drizzling with olive oil. Bake in the oven at 220c for 10 - 15minutes to get a crisp golden start to the skin. Reduce the temperature to 180c and cook for approximately 30 minutes per kg basting occasionally throughout. To test that your turkey is cooked simply skewer the thickest part of the leg and check that the juices are running clear rather than pink. Remove from the oven, cover with tinfoil and leave to rest for at least 20 minutes.

For the breadcrumbs, simply slice the crust off the bread, chop roughly and blitz in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper. Grate in the zest of one orange and one lemon - keep the lemon for it's juice later in the recipe. Blitz again to fully incorporate.

Dice the pancetta into lardons and cook in a pan with a little olive oil. Add the chopped onion, thyme and pine kernels. Cook for approximately 3-4 minutes before adding the butter in small pieces around the edge of the pan. Allow the butter to foam and turn a golden brown and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Cook for a further 5 minutes until the crumbs are nicely toasted. Squeeze in the lemon juice and season if required.

Peel the carrots and par boil in vegetable stock together with the thyme, garlic and bay leaf- the carrots should be two thirds cooked. Leave to cool in their water. Drain the carrots and pat dry before tossing in a pan of hot olive oil. Season with a sprinkling of salt. Sauté for 2-3 minutes before adding some butter, baste over the carrots and cook for a further 3 -4 minutes until the carrots are tender.

Peel the potatoes and place over the heat in a baking tray with the duck fat. Allow them to crisp and turn golden on the outside before placing in the oven. They should take 40 minutes in the oven so put them in 10 minutes before the end of Turkey cooking time so they're still cooking while the turkeys are resting.

Cook the Brussels sprouts in boiling water for 8-10 minutes, until slightly softened - do not mark the bottom of the sprouts with a cross unless they are very large, this simply causes them to become waterlogged and mushy. Drain the sprouts and sauté in a little butter and hot oil until cooked through. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds towards the end of cooking and allow to brown gently.