Food And Nutrition
Stuffed roast turkey breast
Less than 2 hours of roasting makes this roast turkey breast a relatively quick Christmas dinner. As well as lemon and thyme, the stuffing features tart dried cranberries, crunchy almonds and sweet leeks.
Ingredients
For the stuffing
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 leek, trimmed and finely sliced
- 4 pork sausages, around 275g/9¾oz
- 50g/1¾oz dried cranberries
- 25g/1oz flaked almonds
- 1 unwaxed lemon, finely grated zest only
- 1 heaped tbsp roughly chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 40g/1½oz dried white breadcrumbs
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the turkey
- 1.5kg/3lb 5oz turkey breast joint, fully thawed if frozen
- 16 rashers smoked streaky bacon
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil, plus extra for oiling
- fresh thyme and bay leaves, to garnish
For the gravy
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- splash of wine
- 450ml/16fl oz chicken stock, made with 1 chicken stock cube
- 1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
Method
-
To make the stuffing, heat the oil and gently fry the onion and leek for 5 minutes, or until well softened and lightly browned, stirring regularly. Tip into a mixing bowl and leave to cool for 30 minutes.
-
For the turkey, generously oil a small, sturdy roasting tin, roughly 30cm x 22cm/12 x 8½in – the turkey needs to fit snugly.
-
To continue the stuffing, once the onion and leek are cool, add the cranberries, almonds, lemon zest, thyme and breadcrumbs. Squeeze the sausage meat out of the skins and add it to the bowl.
-
Season with salt and lots of pepper. Mix well with a spoon or with clean hands until thoroughly combined.
-
Place the turkey breast on a board and gently remove the skin. Turn over and cut horizontally almost all the way through the thickest part of the breast and open up like a book, so that the turkey has a flatter, more oblong shape. Cover with a sheet of cling film and bash with a rolling pin until around 2.5cm/1in thick all over.
-
Place a sheet of cling film on a work surface and put eight pieces of kitchen string, each 50cm/20in long, roughly 4cm/1½in apart along its length. Stretch each rasher of bacon with the back of a knife until around 32cm/13in long. Place the bacon rashers on top of the string and cling film, overlapping each slice.
-
Place the turkey breast, smooth-side down, on top of the bacon and arrange the filling all the way down its length. Bring up the cling film and bacon on both long sides to enclose the filling.
-
Tie firmly with the string and discard the cling film. Place the turkey parcel in the prepared tin, knot-side down. (You can cover and chill for up to 24 hours before cooking if using a fresh turkey joint, or cook the same day if using a previously frozen joint.)
-
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Uncover the stuffed turkey joint, then drizzle with oil and season with black pepper. Cover loosely with foil and roast for 1 hour. Remove the foil and continue cooking for a further 30–45 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp and the turkey and stuffing are thoroughly cooked.
-
Transfer the turkey to a warmed platter. Cover with foil and a tea towel and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
-
For the gravy, put the roasting tin on the hob over medium heat and stir in the flour. Add the wine and cook for 15–20 seconds, stirring constantly.
-
Gradually add the stock, stirring all the time. Bring the liquid to a simmer, stir in the redcurrant jelly and cook for 2 minutes, or until thickened and glossy. Season to taste, strain carefully (the tin will be extremely hot) through a sieve into a saucepan and keep warm until ready to serve.
-
Snip the string off the turkey and garnish with bay leaves and thyme. Carve into slices and serve with the hot gravy.
This Moroccan-inspired, slow-cooked lamb dish is low in calories and only uses six ingredients. If you want to make it five, leave out the apricots – you’ll save on sugar too. If you’re on a low-calorie diet, pair it with a low-calorie breakfast and/or lunch as it’s a little over 500 calories.
Each serving provides 522 kcal, 50g protein, 32g carbohydrates (of which 20g sugars), 19g fat (of which 7g saturates), 9g fibre and 0.5g salt. With a GI of 45 this meal is high protein, low GI.
Ingredients
- 600g/1lb 5oz lean lamb leg steaks, cut into bite-size cubes
- 1–2 level tbsp harissa paste
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes with herbs
- 2 x 410g tins chickpeas, drained
- 12 dried apricots (optional)
- small bunch (about 30g/1oz) fresh coriander, roughly chopped
Method
-
Preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas 3½
-
Put the lamb in a medium, ovenproof casserole dish and coat evenly with the harissa paste.
-
Pour in the tomatoes and 300ml/10fl oz of water. Bring to the boil over a medium heat and stir well.
-
Cover tightly with kitchen foil and bake for 1 hour.
-
Stir in the chickpeas and apricots, if using, and bake for 30–45 minutes, or until the lamb is tender.
-
Stir in the coriander and serve.
This is a speciality of Nice and is filled with Niçoise salad ingredients. A great way to use up slightly stale bread, the recipe contains tuna and anchovies but if you are vegetarian, you could substitute with cheese (such as mozzarella or slices of goats’ cheese) or roasted peppers, aubergines, courgettes and mushrooms. Make this a day ahead and keep weighted down in the fridge so all the juices seep into the bread.
Ingredients
- 1 pain de campagne or round sourdough loaf (about 400g/14oz)
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or grated
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 or 3 large ripe tomatoes, sliced
- 15cm/6in piece of cucumber, sliced
- 225g tin tuna in olive oil, drained
- 6 anchovies in olive oil, drained
- 3 hard-boiled free-range eggs, peeled and sliced
- 20 Niçoise or Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
- 1 tsp fresh oregano or marjoram leaves, chopped
- 10 fresh basil leaves, torn
- 1 handful rocket leaves
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
-
Slice off the top quarter of the loaf to use as a lid. Using your fingers, hollow out the inside of the rest of the bread to leave just a shell.
-
Sprinkle the inside of the bread shell and the lid with the garlic, then brush with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
-
Layer the onion, tomatoes, cucumber, tuna, anchovies, eggs, olives, oregano, basil and rocket into the bread shell, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go (the order does not really matter). Mix the remaining olive oil with the vinegar and mustard in a small bowl and then drizzle this dressing into the bread shell so it trickles down over the filling. Top with the bread lid and wrap the loaf tightly in kitchen foil.
-
Place in a baking tin and weigh down with a heavy pan or a four pack of tinned tomatoes or similar. Leave in the fridge overnight. Cut into wedges and serve.
Even if you’re new to cooking you can tackle this ham and pea pasta with confidence, as a sauce like this requires little more than warming through to come together. The cream adds a touch of luxury to this supper for one.
Each serving provides 1140 kcal, 38g protein, 86g carbohydrates (of which 7g sugars), 69g fat (of which 42g saturates), 11g fibre and 1.5g salt.
Ingredients
- 100g/3½oz dried pasta shapes
- 100g/3½oz frozen peas
- knob of butter or splash of olive oil
- 1–2 spring onions, white and green parts separated and finely sliced
- 100ml/3½fl oz double cream
- 25g/1oz Parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve
- 1 thick-cut slice of ham, diced
- ½ lemon, zest and juice
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
-
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Tip in the pasta and cook for 9–11 minutes until done to your liking, adding the frozen peas for the final minute.
-
Meanwhile, heat a knob of butter or splash of oil in a frying pan, add the spring onion whites and fry for a minute until just softening. Turn off the heat and set aside until the pasta is cooked.
-
Drain the pasta and peas, reserving a ladleful of the cooking water, and tip into the frying pan. Add the cream, Parmesan and ham with 3 tablespoons of the pasta water. Stir over a low–medium heat until the cream starts to bubble, then turn the heat down and stir briefly until the sauce is clinging to the pasta. (If you overcook it and it starts looking dry, add a little more of the pasta water.)
-
Stir in the lemon zest and spring onion greens, then season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste. Serve immediately with extra Parmesan.
