Corfu Recipes - Stuffed Turkey

This page gives you the opportunity to re-create some of your favourite Corfiot taverna recipes at home. This time Stuffed Turkey.

Ingredients - 1 turkey. 2 kg potatoes. Salt and black pepper. Juice of 2 lemons. 4 tablespoons olive oil. 1 tablespoon oregano. 1 tablespoon thyme. 30 gr. butter. 200 ml water. For the stuffing - 1.5 glass white wine, or juice of a lemon. 120 gr. pine nuts. 270 gr. lean beef, minced. 150 ml water. Salt and black pepper. Turkey liver and heart, rinsed and finely sliced. 5 tablespoons chopped parsley. 1 medium onion, finely sliced. 1 piece cinnamon stick. 45 gr. long-grain rice, rinsed. 5 whole grains allspice.

Instructions - Rinse and dry the turkey. Season the turkey with salt and black pepper all over, as well as in its cavity. Prepare the stuffing - Put the pine nuts in a dry frying pan and roast them over a medium heat, shaking or stirring almost continuously for 3-4 minutes until they look nicely brown. Keep aside. Sautee the minced meat, which should produce its own fat so there is no need to add more, and the giblets for a few minutes, breaking down any lumps. Add the onion and the spices and sautee for a further 3-4 minutes. Pour over the wine or lemon juice and, when the steaming subsides, add the water. Season with salt and pepper, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the rice, pine nuts, parsley and mix well. Stuff the turkey and place the turkey in the middle of a roasting tin, breast up. Peel and quarter the potatoes lengthways (quarter-moon shape), rinse them and arrange evenly around the turkey. Pour the lemon juice and olive oil over the turkey and potatoes, then sprinkle with most of the herbs. Dot the butter all over and carefully pour the water into a corner of the pan. Roast in a pre-heated oven for two and a half to three hours. A little water may be added if it looks as if it is drying up, no more than 6 tablespoons. The turkey should be golden brown by the end and the potatoes a little less so.

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