Tag Archives: turkey

Roast Turkey with herb stuffing

Once a year on Christmas Day l go all out and make the most delicious turkey lunch for the family. A special part of this celebration is a most gorgeous gluten free stuffing which everyone looks forward to. The leftovers are one of the highlights and an array of vegetable and salad dishes completes a most magnificent meal.

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The seasoning is bursting out of the turkey.

Buy the best quality turkey you can. This was a Free Range one which l bought Frozen and therefore had to defrost for about four days. Wash it well before cooking including the cavity.

Seasoning:

One loaf of good quality gluten free bread. I used a sunflour and quinoa variety.

A handful each of spring onion greens sliced, chopped walnuts, coconut flakes, herbs (parsley and mint).

The juice and zest of one lemon.

Pink rock salt and black pepper.

One generous tablespoon of coconut oil.

Filtered water (approximately 1/4 of a cup but use your judgement)

Anything else you have which you think might add to the flavour.

Directions: Break up the bread into pieces and place into the food processor (chopping blade). Add all ingredients and process until looking well combined.

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Ready to go into the turkey
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The turkey has been coated in olive oil and seasoned with sea salt and black pepper. I sit it on a rack with water underneath.

Spoon into the turkey cavity and pull the top of the turkey up to fit it all in.

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Cover the turkey generously with foil and place in a 180 degree celsius oven. Cook until golden and delicious which for me was about 5 hours as this was a 4.5 kg turkey. I like to remove the turkey once during cooking to baste and then remove when cooked and let sit fully covered for at least 30 minutes.

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Sensational

I cooked up lots of baked veggie dishes and salads and the best part is eating the leftovers the next day.

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Cold leftovers.

This recipe uses a loaf of gluten free bread as the base for the stuffing. I rarely eat processed gluten free foods but this recipe benefits from having the bread as the base. You could make your Paleo bread but l am o.k having this as a once a year treat and the decision is entirely a personal one. I hope you enjoyed a lovely Christmas and New Year with those closest to you.

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Turkey bone broth

A flavour taste sensation filled with so many wonderful nourishing nutrients and making use of ingredients that usually go to waste.

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An amazing turkey bone broth with pan fried sweet potato noodles. It was completely delicious.

Bone broth is nutrient dense and extremely healing for the digestive system. In addition to this it is filled with an incredible flavour that can be enjoyed on its own as a drink or used in your favourite meals.

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This is a beautiful beef and vegetable casserole where l added about 1 litre of turkey stock to create an amazing flavour. 

To make the stock you need to have the remainders of the turkey after you have cooked it and enjoyed a lovely meal.

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Cook your turkey and enjoy a delicious meal saving the leftover meat, skin and bone for your broth.

To make the broth place your turkey leftovers in a big pot and fill it 3/4 of the way with filtered water. Add to the pot 1/4 cup of organic apple cider vinegar, a few peppercorns, onion, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, a few bay leaves and an assortment of vegetables such as celery ends or carrots.

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Everything is in the pot. 

It is hard to go wrong and the actual quantity of each ingredient doesn’t have to be exact. The apple cider vinegar is important though as it helps to leach the minerals and nutrients from the bones.

Bring the broth to the boil and then let simmer with the lid on for around 24 hours. The house will smell lovely.

When the broth is cool strain it to so you are left with a clear liquid. Let it cool in the fridge and then skim the fat and solids off the top. The broth is now ready to use or can be frozen.

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This broth is so precious. Try to always have a broth of some kind in your fridge or freezer.

A healthy Christmas lunch

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I was determined not to get sick from Christmas lunch this year so l kept it simple and healthy and it was really delicious. On the menu was a free range turkey which l roasted in the oven, roasted carrots, sweet potato, pumpkin and potatoes. This was accompanied by red quinoa tabouli, roast pumpkin hummus and a nice green salad. I made some stuffing for the turkey in a separate baking dish using a low gluten bread which the kids loved but l did not eat. For the dressing l made a healthy salad dressing (in the recipe section) and topped it all with Kapai Puku. I normally only drink filtered water but tried some sparkling mineral water which came in a glass bottle. This probably all sounds really boring to those of you who can eat what you like with minimal consequences, but last year l was sick for days after consuming some Lindt balls and too much fruit, so today’s lunch was a wonderful success as l feel great and the leftovers were delicious.