insideKENT Magazine Issue 33 - December 2014 | Page 95

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Turkey is turkey. Or is it? A lot can be done with this traditional Christmas fare to make it stand out from the crowd. This recipe
for cider roast turkey is sure to go down well.
Next, pour in 300ml of cider and
cover the whole lot with foil. Roast
for 40 minutes per kilogram (or 20
minutes per lb). Check on your
turkey throughout the cooking time,
and if the vegetables are starting to
dry out or burn, add a little water
or cider.

You will need:
• 6kg/13lb turkey (with giblets removed)
• 2 leeks
• 2 carrots
• 50g butter
• 600ml dry cider
• 600ml chicken stock
• 2tsbp redcurrant jelly

With 30 minutes to go, remove the
foil and season.

Preheat your oven to 190ºC (170ºC fan, gas mark 5). Wash the turkey, and
thoroughly dry it, removing the giblets at the same time. Place the carrots
(peeled and trimmed) and leeks (washed and trimmed) on a roasting dish
next to one another, and pop the turkey on top so it rests just above the
bottom of the dish. Coat the breast all over with butter (don’t be afraid to
get your hands dirty, the more butter you have, the moister your turkey will
be).

When you take the turkey from the
oven, pierce the thickest part of the
thigh; if the juices run clear then it
is completely cooked. If it is, remove
from the tin and leave to rest for up

to an hour, covered with a clean tea
towel.
To make the gravy, drain the fat and
juices (you can discard the veg) from
the roasting tin into a jug, and then
put the empty tin onto your hob.
Pour in the rest of the cider and
scrape up the remnants of the
turkey roast. When the cider mixture
has reduced by half, strain it into a
saucepan and slowly add the
chicken stock, keeping the whole
thing simmering lightly for around
15 minutes. Just before serving,
spoon in the redcurrant jelly
and stir.

Dessert
To finish off your sumptuous Christmas feast, you could choose from a number
of traditional desserts. The one we’ve picked for you – chocolate Christmas pudding
cheesecake – is perfect because it’s easy, delicious, and can be made well in advance,
so it’s one less thing to worry about on the big day.
You will need:
• 125g Bourbon biscuits
• 65g melted butter (+ another 15g for the sauce)
• 100g dark chocolate (+ another 125g for the
sauce)
• 200g full fat cream cheese
• 400g ricotta
• 75g golden caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 40g cocoa powder
• 125g Christmas pudding (you can buy this
ready-made)
• 125ml double cream
Preheat your oven to 200ºC (180ºC fan, gas
mark 4).
In a bowl, crush the biscuits into crumbs and
pour over the melted butter. Combine, and then
press into the bottom of a round cake tin (20cm
size is perfect). Next, melt the dark chocolate in
a bowl over a saucepan of water.

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Now put the cream cheese, ricotta, and sugar in
a food processor and blend. When it is smooth,
add the eggs, cocoa powder, melted chocolate,
and finally the Christmas pudding broken into
chunks. Mix together, and then spoon over the
biscuit base.
Bake for about 45 minutes and allow to cool in
the tin. When it has cooled down, turn it out and
dust with cocoa powder. It can be kept in the
fridge until needed.
The sauce has to be served as soon as it's made,
and cannot be reheated. If you do want to make
it, you can do so by placing the chocolate and
cream together in a bowl and melting over a
saucepan of water, before whisking in the butter.
It's that simple. Alternatively, you could simply
use double cream or clotted cream.
Enjoy your meal, and more so, enjoy the many
compliments you’ll receive.