Christmas Roast Turkey Recipe with Oranges and Pomegranate
This lighter alternative to a traditional Christmas roast turkey recipe with stuffing will surely delight any festive table. Seasonal oranges and pomegranate add extra festive flavour to the meat which is kept nice and succulent during cooking by the Bertolli with Butter herb paste. Bertolli with Butter is perfect for this turkey recipe as you can use it straight from the fridge, it blends easily with the sage, is easily spreadable and the goodness of the olive oil helps create deliciously crispy skin.
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Prep time25 minutes![]()
11 portions
Ingredients
- 100 grams Bertolli buttery spread
- handful sage leaves finely chopped
- salt
- pepper
- 2 oranges peel & pith removed but left whole
- 1 free range organic whole turkey weighing approx. 3 kg
- 2 large carrots cut in half lengthways
- 2 medium-sized red onions cut in half
- 2 celery stalks
- 200 grams pancetta slices
- 500 ml liquid vegetable stock
- 200 ml white wine
- 300 ml pomegranate juice
For the sauce
- 2 oranges peeled and roughly chopped
- 200 ml pomegranate juice
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- pomegranate seeds of 1 pomegranate
Nutritional Guidelines
(per serving)
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees centigrade (fan oven).
- Combine Bertolli with Butter and sage to make a paste. Gently open up the skin of the breast and rub in salt & pepper and some of the sage butter. Do the same over the whole turkey. In the cavity, rub salt & pepper and place 2 whole oranges inside.
- Place carrots, onions and celery on the bottom of a roasting tin, place the turkey over the top of the vegetables. Arrange pancetta slices all over the turkey. Pour in stock and wine, cover with foil.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 160 degrees centigrade (fan oven) and place the turkey in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes basting from time to time. After this time, remove foil and pour in the pomegranate juice. Cover again with the foil and return to the oven for a further one hour until the turkey is cooked through. About 30 minutes before the end of cooking time, remove the foil.
- Remove the turkey from the oven and place on a plate or board covered with foil to keep warm.
- Remove the oranges from the cavity and roughly chop. Place the roasting tin with all the juices on the hob over a medium heat. Add the cooked and uncooked orange pieces, pomegranate juice and flour and whisk well until the sauce begins to thicken – if necessary add a little hot stock. Strain through a fine sieve and pour into a pan, add pomegranate seeds, heat through and serve with the turkey.
