Festive Turkey Wellington Recipes

ROAST TURKEY & CRANBERRY WELLINGTON

Steps:

• Trim the turkey breast. Its natural shape does not suit the rolled and wrapped wellington. The thicker neck end can first be trimmed to establish a more cylindrical shape. Trimmings from 2kg/4lb 8oz breasts and upwards, will be enough for the 350g/12oz needed for stuffing. Once trimmed, tie the breast with a 2cm/1in gap between each loop of string, to give a rounded shape.
• Heat 2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil in a large frying pan or roasting tray. Season the turkey before pan frying until golden brown all over. Remove from the pan and cool. The breast can now be refrigerated to firm up before removing the string.
• Make the stuffing: cook the onions in a knob of butter for a few minutes until softened. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Roughly chop the turkey trimmings before blitzing in a food processor until smooth. Add sausages and continue to blitz for 30-40 seconds until mixed in. Season and add the eggs. These can be blitzed into the meat for a further minute until the texture thickens.
• Spoon the stuffing into a large bowl. Mix in the onions and remaining stuffing ingredients along with extra seasoning, if desired. The stuffing can now be chilled while the bacon and pastry are prepared.
• The streaky bacon needs to be rolled thinner. This extends the length of the rashers helping them to wrap around the turkey and stuffing. The easiest method to follow is to lay 3-5 rashers between two sheets of cling film and press with a rolling pin as if rolling pastry. The rashers will easily thin and extend this way. Peel away the top layer of film and remove the rashers and put on a tray. Repeat until all rashers are pressed. Chill until needed.
• Roll the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle approximately 45 x 35cm/18 x 14in. The rashers of bacon can be laid on top of the pastry, leaving a 3-4cm/1½in border all round. Slightly overlap the rashers as they are laid on the pastry (you'll need about 14-15 rashers).
• Spread the cranberry stuffing over the bacon, first mixing it well if it is chilled and set. Keep back a few heaped tablespoons. Remove the string from the turkey and lay the breast lengthwise and presentation side down on top of the stuffing. The reserved stuffing can now be spread along the centre top of the turkey. Lift 4-5 rashers at a time and press them against the breast. Continue until all the rashers on both sides have been lifted and pressed. The remaining rashers can now be laid lengthwise along the top, covering the stuffing that was spread there.
• Bring one long side of the pastry up and over the turkey. Brush the other long side with beaten egg, along the 3-4cm/1½in border, then seal. Brush both ends with beaten egg and fold up to seal in all the ingredients. Turn the wellington so that the presentation side is up and put on a lightly oiled baking tray, or one covered with greased parchment. Chill.
• To cook the wellington: preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6/170C in a fan assisted convection oven and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes maximum. After 45 minutes, brush the wellington with egg to help colour the pastry. For the most golden of finishes, brush again before the last 15-20 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the oven and rest for 15-20 minutes before lifting carefully on to a carving board with two large fish slices.
• While the Wellington is baking the sauce can be made: melt a knob of butter in a pan, once bubbling add the shallots or onions and cook on a medium high heat until a rich deep golden colour. Add the honey and continue to cook for a few minutes until bubbling and almost caramelising. At this point add the red wine vinegar and red wine. Bring to the boil and reduce by half. Add the water or stock and return to simmer. Mix the flour with 25g/1oz butter. Whisk into the sauce a little at a time until completely whisked in. Return the sauce to the boil before reducing to a simmer and cooking for a few minutes. Strain through a sieve and season. Slice the wellington and serve with noisette potatoes and buttered Brussels sprouts.

TURKEY WELLINGTON

Steps:

• Dad and I had a really interesting conversation about smaller families not wanting whole turkeys for their dinner. So we had a scout around the supermarkets and developed a really delicious and impressive recipe for this. It's dramatic and stretches the meat a fairly long way. The case of pastry and minced mushrooms keeps the breast moist and delicious and is a little forgiving so the meat holds its juices. You could assemble it a day before and just leave it in the fridge ready to over deliver on Christmas day.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Place the turkey breast upside-down on a board. Gently slice into the natural join of the breast muscle to open it out and make a sort of pocket. Season well and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle over half the thyme leaves, then spread over an even layer of cranberry jam, pushing it into all the nooks and crannies. Fold it back into shape to seal the mixture inside - swiss roll-stylie - and push a few cocktail sticks into the seam to keep it together. Transfer the turkey to a roasting tray, season the outside with the remaining thyme leaves, a good pinch of salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Rub it all over, cover in tin foil and roast in the hot oven for 60 to 70 minutes, or until just cooked through - using a thermometer, you want it to be 72°C at the thickest point.
• Meanwhile, soak the porcini in a dish of just-boiled water. After 5 minutes, stir with a fork so any bits of grit sink to the bottom. Add the bacon to a large frying pan with a splash of oil on a medium heat and fry for 5 to 10 minutes, or until beautifully golden and super crispy. Strip in the leaves from 2 rosemary sprigs for the last 30 seconds or so. Remove everything from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the bacon fat behind. Add the fresh mushrooms to the pan with a pinch of salt and pepper. Drain and chop the porcini, saving the water, then stir into the pan. Add a splash of the water, avoiding the grit, then cook for around 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pan starts to sizzle again and the mushrooms are golden, soft and sticky with caramelly edges.
• To make the gravy, cut the thigh off the turkey leg and slash into it slightly. Throw the leg and thigh into a pot along with the carrot, leek and onion. Stir in the flour, add a good pinch of salt and pepper and 2 litres of boiling water. Add a heaped tablespoon of cranberry jam, the balsamic vinegar and remaining rosemary sprig. Bring back to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for around 2 hours, or until thick. Strain it through a sieve and reheat before serving.
• When the mushroom pan is dry, add a knob of butter and toss to coat. Tip the mushrooms into the food processor and whiz until you get a good mixture of smooth and chunky. Leave to cool. Once the turkey breast and stuffing have cooled, you can get on with assembling the wellington.
• Dust a clean surface with flour, then roll out each packet of puff pastry to the size of a shoe box (one will be the base, one the lid - roll the lid ever so slightly bigger). Line a large roasting tray with greaseproof paper, dust with flour, then add the smaller piece of pastry. Spread half of the mushroom stuffing onto the middle of the base to cover an area the same size as your turkey breast. Remove the cocktail sticks, then place the turkey breast on top and spread the remaining stuffing over the top packing it all in and smoothing it out so that the whole breast is covered. Sprinkle with the crispy bacon and rosemary, then brush the edges of the pastry with beaten egg. Lay the second sheet of pastry over the top, gently mold it round the shape of the breast, pushing all the air out and seal together. Trim the edges to around 4cm, then pull, twist, tuck and pinch in the pastry (like in the picture).
• Brush the whole thing with beaten egg then all the hard work's done. Leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight until you're ready to cook. On Christmas day, cook at 180°/350°F/gas 4 for 50 to 60 minutes, or until risen, puffy and beautifully golden and the turkey is piping hot throughout. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for around 10 minutes before carving. Serve carved into 2.5cm with the gravy and all the usual. Christmas in a mouthful.

FESTIVE TURKEY WELLINGTON RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 180 C/ gas mark 4. Line a medium baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Rub the turkey with 1 tablespoons of the oil, sprinkle with the thyme (leaves only), season and place on your baking sheet. Pop in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.
• Meanwhile prepare the mushroom mixture. Rinse the porcini in cold water rubbing gently with your fingertips to remove any grit. Place in a small bowl and add enough hot water to just cover the mushrooms (4-6 tablespoons).
• In a large frying pan heat up 2 tablespoons of the oil, add the mushrooms and fry over a fairly high heat for a few minutes until they start changing colour. Add the porcini along with the water they were soaking in, the rosemary (leaves only), sundried tomatoes and season. Cook on a medium/high heat until all the moisture has evaporated, for approx. 15 minutes, stirring often.
• Blitz the mixture until quite fine and slightly sticky (with bits of mushroom still visible). Towards the end add the chestnuts. Stir in the parmesan and taste the mixture to check if you are happy with the seasoning.
• Preheat the oven to 400 F/ 200 C/ gas mark 6.
• Unroll the pastry onto your baking sheet with the paper underneath. Make sure the pastry is long enough to cover the entire turkey breast. Spread 3 quarters of the mushroom mixture and place the turkey at one end of the sheet (see photo above). Wrap the turkey in the pastry (stripping the paper off as you go) until it's completely encased in the pastry. Add the remaining mushroom mixture to cover the turkey as well as possible (you might have to add some on the sides and top). Try to get rid of any air pockets and make sure the pastry is nice and snug around the turkey. Trim the edges, brush with egg and stick together. If you've got any pastry left make a simple pattern on top.
• Brush the whole thing with egg and refrigerate for 15 minutes (this will make the pastry extra crispy and flaky) then place in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown. If the top starts browning too much (after about 25 minutes) cover loosely with tin foil/paper.
• Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Using a very sharp knife carve thick slices and enjoy!

CHRISTMAS DINNER WELLINGTON

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a pan. Add the onion and cook for 8-10 mins until soft. Tip into a bowl and leave to cool.
• Cover a chopping board with cling film and place a chicken breast on top. Cover the chicken with more cling film. Use a rolling pin to gently bash the thicker part of the chicken until the whole chicken breast is an even thickness of about ½cm. Repeat with the remaining breasts.
• Mix the sausagemeat, herbs and breadcrumbs into the cooled onions. On your worktop, make a double layer of cling film, about 30 x 40cm in size. Lay the prosciutto on top, covering as much of the cling film's surface area as possible. Top with the chicken breasts, placing them to fit together (cut into smaller pieces if you need to) and arranging them to completely cover the prosciutto. Season the chicken.
• Cover the chicken with the sausagemeat mixture, spreading it right to the edges. Stir the cranberry sauce to loosen it, then spread over the sausagemeat. Roll the chicken up tightly from one of the longer sides (using the cling film to help you but keeping the cling film on the outside), encasing the fillings in a spiral inside. The prosciutto should be the outermost layer. Wrap the roulade in a large sheet of cling film and twist at the ends to seal, then freeze for 30 mins.
• On a floured surface, roll out one block of pastry to the thickness of a £1 coin. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment. Unwrap the chicken roulade and place on top of the pastry. Trim the pastry to a rectangle, leaving 2-3cm all the way around the base of the roulade. Save the off-cuts for decorating the top.
• Roll out the second piece of pastry to the same thickness as the first. Whisk together the egg and extra yolk and brush a little around the edge of the pastry base. Drape the second piece of pastry over the roulade, moulding it tightly around the meat and pushing out any air pockets. Trim off any excess pastry, leaving a border of about 2cm.
• Crimp the border with your thumb and forefingers, or use a fork to press around the edge to seal (flour the fork if the pastry begins to stick). Brush the wellington all over with the egg wash. Use the reserved pastry off-cuts to decorate the wellington as you like, or score through the top layer with a sharp knife. Cover and chill for at least 1 hr, or for up to 48 hrs. Can be frozen at this stage for up to two months (defrost in the fridge before cooking). When you're ready to cook, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• If you have any egg wash left over, brush the wellington with a little more just before baking. Cook for 1 hr 15 mins until the pastry is golden and crisp. If you've previously frozen the wellington, make sure it's cooked through by poking a sharp knife into the centre and checking the tip comes out very hot. Serve with mash or roast potatoes, veg and gravy, if you like. Chicken is much juicier than beef, so have some kitchen paper to hand ready for when you cut into the wellington.