Christmas Stuffed Turkey with Vegetables and Polenta

Ingredients

• 1 small turkey (pre‑cooked, about 3 kg)
• Salt
• Pepper (freshly ground)
• 2 Apples
• 3 onions
• 5 tbsp clarified butter
• 200 g cranberries
• 10 finely sliced sage leaves
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 bundle mixed vegetables for soup
• 1 l chicken broth
• 400 ml milk
• 2 Eggs
• 100 g freshly grated Parmesan
• 200 g instant polenta
• vegetable oil (for the tray)
• 2 tbsp olive oil (for frying)
• 1 kg small carrots
• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 75 ml vegetable broth
• 150 ml gooseberry juice
• 4 tbsp crème fraîche

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat the oven to 220°C with upper and lower heat. Wash the turkey, pat dry, and rub inside and out with salt and pepper. Peel the apples, quarter them, remove the core, and cut the flesh into strips. Separate the onions, dice two of them, and slice the remaining ones into rings.

2. 2.

   Sauté the apple and onion rings in 2 tbsp hot clarified butter. Mix the apple‑onion mixture with 100 g cranberries, sage, and maple syrup, then stuff the turkey with it. Tie closed with kitchen twine. Clean, wash, and finely dice the soup vegetables.

3. 3.

   Roast the diced onions in 1 tbsp clarified butter until golden. Place the vegetables in the oven pan, set the turkey on top, and brush with remaining melted clarified butter. Roast in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 180°C and add about 250 ml hot chicken broth. Continue roasting the turkey for 3 hours, basting occasionally with cooking juices.

4. 4.

   After one hour, add any remaining cranberries and optional broth. Meanwhile, bring milk to a boil for the polenta stars. Stir in the polenta, season with salt and pepper, and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, let cool slightly, then mix in eggs and parmesan. Spread the polenta about 1 cm thick onto a lightly oiled tray and allow to set.

5. 5.

   Just before serving, cut stars out of the cooled polenta and fry them in hot oil until golden brown. Peel and slice carrots diagonally into thin rounds. Dice the onion finely. While the turkey is nearly done, sauté the onion in hot butter until translucent, add the carrots, and cook for 3 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar and caramelize briefly. Pour in vegetable broth, cover the carrots, and simmer on medium heat for about 10 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper.

6. 6.

   When cooking is finished, remove the turkey, place it on a platter, and let rest under foil for another 15 minutes. Transfer the roasting juices and vegetables to a pot, add remaining chicken broth and juice, and reduce until thickened.

7. 7.

   Puree the sauce and strain through a sieve. Stir in crème fraîche and season with salt and pepper. Slice the turkey and serve it with the sauce, stuffing, glazed carrots, and polenta stars on warmed plates.