Photography Con Poulos Styling Michele Cranston
Why choose a turkey breast?
Using a turkey breast fillet rather than a whole turkey is a fast and stress-free way to include a traditional roast on Christmas Day. This recipe is still enough to feed up to eight people, and makes a beautiful centrepiece for the big day.
These onion petals are a fun way to make a vessel to hold individual portions of stuffing, so there is always plenty to go around.
Soy sauce is a naturally fermented product so it has that unique, umami flavour. It’s so versatile and doesn’t have to be reserved for only Asian dishes. It’s been used here to season the stuffing mixture so there’s no need to add salt. Plus, adding it to a glaze will guarantee the turkey roll will be crispy with a delicious, caramelised golden-brown skin.
Ingredients
Method
Place the halved onions in a large saucepan of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until just tender. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.
Carefully separate the onion layers, reserve 12 medium-sized layers to fill with stuffing mixture.
Finely chop the remaining onion. Place in a large bowl with garlic, parsley, thyme, sage, sausage, breadcrumbs, soy sauce, lemon, apple, egg and butter. Season with cracked pepper only. Mix well to combine.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Line a large baking tray with foil then baking paper.
Lay turkey breast, skin-side down, on a chopping board. Using a sharp knife, cut a slit horizontally into the breast, making sure not to go all the way through. Take 1½ cups stuffing mixture and fill the cavity of turkey. Tie with kitchen string to secure.
Place the turkey breast on the tray, skin-side up; roast for 40 minutes.
SOY & APPLE GLAZE Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, apple juice and mustard in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 6 minutes or until syrupy.
Meanwhile, spoon the remaining stuffing into the reserved onion petals. Arrange around the turkey breast. Brush the turkey with Soy & Apple Glaze and roast for a further 40 minutes, brushing occasionally with the glaze.
Rest turkey for 10 minutes, loosely covered. Combine any pan juices with any remaining glaze; reheat until piping hot.
Slice the turkey and serve with pan juice mixture and stuffing onions. Accompany with watercress and radicchio leaves.
The benefits of resting meat is that it allows the juices to be reabsorbed into the fibres of the meat. If you skip resting, you will lose more flavourful juices when the meat is cut.
Test Kitchen tip
Serve on one of these …
01
Nutcracker Serving Platter 34cm, David Jones
$49.95
A festive feast needs a festive-themed plate. This understated design takes its inspiration from the much loved ballet The Nutcracker, which begins with family and friends gathered at a Christmas Eve party.
02
Robert Gordon RGA x Field Day Oval Platter Early Hours Fog, House
$60 (was $94.95)
This stoneware platter is a fantastic size for entertaining. With a length of 41 cm, you’d fit the turkey and the onions very comfortably on this one! The delicate floral and foliage design is by Victoria’s Field Day studios.
