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This Rolled Turkey with Quinoa Cranberry Stuffing is the ultimate special occasion meal…absolutely delicious and truely a feast fit for a crowd on Christmas Day.

Now before you click away thinking there is no way you can be bothered rolling meat…here’s the thing, you don’t have to. I’ve made a rolled turkey of sorts every Christmas, because I find it easier to cook than a whole bird.  So I just make the stuffing and I’ve always found the butcher I buy my turkey from, really accomodating in boning and rolling it for me.

This super simple Rolled Turkey with Quinoa Cranberry Stuffing will wow any crowd! I can’t wait to hear how you love it.

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Take a look at the variations (below the main recipe) for suggestions to alter the recipe to suit many specific dietary requirements.

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Rolled Turkey with Quinoa Cranberry Stuffing

This Rolled Turkey with Quinoa Cranberry Stuffing is the ultimate special occasion meal... truely fit for a crowd.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time2 hrs 40 mins

Course: Main Course

Servings: 12

Author: Georgia Harding

Ingredients

Stuffing

• 60 g butter
• 1 red onion/s - finely chopped
• 4 stalk/s celery - finely chopped
• 3 clove/s garlic - minced
• 250 ml chicken stock or bone broth (1 cup)
• 170 g quinoa (1 cup)
• ¼ cup fresh sage leaves - finely chopped
• 3 tbsp flat leaf parsley - finely chopped
• 80 g pistachio nuts - toasted (⅔ cup)
• 60 g dried cranberries (½ cup)
• 4 tbsp almond meal
• 1 tsp sea salt - or to taste
• 1 free-range or organic egg/s
• Ground black pepper - to taste

Turkey

• 7 kg free-range or organic turkey - whole (approx.)**
• 2 tbsp olive oil - extra virgin
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste
• 500 ml water
• 2 stalk/s celery - diced
• 2 carrot/s - diced
• 1 red onion/s - diced
• 4 clove/s garlic - diced

Gravy

• 60 ml red wine (¼ cup)
• 60 ml chicken stock or bone broth - optional, only if needed (¼ cup)
• 2 tsp cornflour (optional, only if you feel you'd like a thicker gravy)
• 1 tbsp water - to form a slurry with the cornflour

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Stuffing

• In a medium sized pot, melt the butter and sweat the onion and celery (with the lid on) until its softened (but not browned). Set aside in a mixing bowl.
• Rinse the quinoa in a fine sieve really well for at least 1 minute (this removes the bitter saponins from the quinoa). Cook the quinoa by placing it into a pot with 2 cups of water.
• Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat a bit to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water, about 10 to 12 minutes.
• Remove the pot from heat, cover, and let the quinoa steam for 5 minutes. This step gives the quinoa time to pop open and the little white spiral to appear. After 5 minutes, remove the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Allow to cool.
• Now mix all the stuffing ingredients together. Taste and adjust the seasoning before adding the egg and mixing through.
• I personally take the stuffing to my butcher to de-bone the turkey and roll it for me. If you want to tackle this yourself, there are heaps of YouTube tutorials on boning and rolling a whole turkey.
• Once the turkey is boned, it will weigh approx. 4 kg. Work off around 30 mins per kg.
• Pre-heat oven to 200°C / 400°F (fan-forced).

Turkey

• Place the turkey on a large baking tray. Pat the skin dry and drizzle with olive oil and then season well.
• Pour the water into the base of the roasting dish and add the celery, carrots, onion and garlic.
• Cover the turkey with baking paper and then tightly wrap the baking dish in foil (so it retains the moisture).
• Cook for 1.5 hours then remove the foil and baking  paper and increase the heat to 220°C / 425°F. Cook for another 20 minutes to brown the skin. ***
• The turkey is cooked when the juices run clear when pierced. I also use a meat thermometer to ensure it is cooked.

Gravy

• Set the turkey aside on the chopping board (loosley cover with foil) while you make a gravy using the pan juices. Pour all of the juices and vegetables into a small pan. Bring to the boil and add the red wine.
• Let it simmer rapidly to reduce and thicken. You may like to add more stock to the pan to increase the amount of gravy you make.
• You can strain it or puree it with the vegges in it (or just enjoy it chunky). Taste and season to taste.
• If you feel you'd like a thicker gravy, mix the optional cornflour with the tablespoon of water to form a slurry, and mix in with the gravy, stirring until it thickens.

Turkey Size & Cooking Times

• ** When deciding on the size of the turkey you buy, work off about 250 g per person (remembering the boned turkey will weigh a lot less than the whole - my 7kg turkey became just over 4kg). I must say I like to over-cater and like having leftovers for Boxing Day. This recipe would definiately stretch to 16 people.
• ***The cook time will vary a little depending on how thick it is rolled so check the meat frequently ( in 2-3 different parts of the roll). If it's not cooked, add 10 minutes at a time. If you think it's cooked, but the skins not brown, pop under a grill watching it carefully for a few minutes to brown it.
• I always ask the butcher for the bones and carcass which makes the most delicious bone broth.

Notes

Egg-free

Omit the egg. It won't bind quite as well, but it will still be delicious.

Onion-free

Replace the onion with a small bulb of fennel.

Garlic-free

Simply omit the garlic.

Fructose friendly

Just omit the cranberries.

Nut-free

Replace the pistachios with toasted pumpkin seeds or just leave them out.

 

I'd love to hear how you love this recipe. Post a comment below if you make it or if you have any questions!