So some of Jamie Olivers recipes are healthy, whilst some are totally indulgent and covered in oil and loaded with butter. I’ve made this slightly healthier by leaving out a few ingredients etc and adding in some others to make it gluten free and fructose friendly. 

Ingredients:

• 5 kg turkey (or whatever size you need to suit your family)
• olive oil
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 orange, halved
• a few sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 x spring onions, roughly chopped
• 2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped

For the stuffing

• olive oil
• 2 spring onions, green part, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of cranberries
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• a few sprigs fresh sage, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• 1 large handful breadcrumbs (either GF or normal)

 Method

Take the turkey out of the fridge about half an hour before you’re ready to cook it so it comes up to room temperature before roasting. Give it a good rinse then pat it dry with some kitchen paper, making sure you soak up any water in the cavity. Drizzle the meat with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and then rub this seasoning all over it.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Pour olive oil into a large pan on a medium heat and lightly fry the spring onions. Stir in salt and pepper, the ground nutmeg, cranberries and chopped sage leaves, then continue to lightly fry and stir for another minute or two. 

Spoon the spring onion mixture into a large bowl and let it cool. Once it’s cooled, add breadcrumbs and mix together. Roll the stuffing together into a ball, then cover and chill until you’re ready to stuff your turkey.

Pull the skin at the neck-end back and push about half of your stuffing inside your turkey. Not too much: you don’t want to pack it so tightly it slows down the cooking. Once done, pull and fold the skin over the opening and tuck it under the turkey.

Turn the turkey around and drop a few small pieces of stuffing into the larger cavity along with your orange halves and a few sprigs of rosemary. If roasting vegetables with your turkey place them in the bottom of a roasting pan and lay your turkey on top. Cover the turkey with tin foil then put it in the hot oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 180°C. Cook for about 35 minutes per kilo. A 5kg turkey will take about 3 to 3½ hours. 

Check on your turkey every 20 minutes or so and keep it from drying out by basting it with the juices from the bottom of the pan. After 2½ hours, remove the foil so the skin gets golden and crispy.

When the time is up, take your turkey out of the oven and stick a small sharp knife into the fattest part of the thigh. If the juices run clear and the meat pulls apart easily, it’s ready. If not, pop the turkey back in the oven to cook for a bit longer then check again. Once ready, cover the turkey with tin foil and a few clean tea towels for 10-15 minutes and let it rest while you get the rest of the lunch organised.