Name: Italian-style turkey with saffron butter
Total time: 3 h 30 min
Yield: Serves 10
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 24 slices pancetta, chopped; olive oil; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; 1 boned turkey crown, approx. 3-4kg; 8 Italian sausages, skinned; 100g parmesan or grana padano, grated; a handful of leaves basil, chopped; in 6 tbsp milk ciabatta; 75g butter; a very good pinch saffron

Italian-Style Turkey Crown Recipe with Butter

24 slices pancetta
chopped
olive oil
2 cloves garlic
crushed
1 boned turkey crown
approx. 3-4kg
8 Italian sausages
skinned
100g parmesan or grana padano
grated
a handful of leaves basil
chopped
in 6 tbsp milk ciabatta
75g butter
a very good pinch saffron

Method

step 1
Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Cook the pancetta in a little olive oil then add the garlic and cook for a minute. Leave to cool.
step 2
Put the turkey skin-side down on a board. Mix the cooled pancetta mix, sausage meat, parmesan, basil and soaked bread and season really well. Spoon it into the middle of the turkey then bring up the skin on both sides to enclose the stuffing, wrapping it up completely and tucking the ends in.
step 3
Slip pieces of kitchen string underneath and tie them at intervals to secure the joint. Weigh the stuffed joint and calculate the cooking time at 20 minutes per 500g.
step 4
Heat the butter and saffron together in a small pan for a couple of minutes and season with salt. Put the turkey in a roasting tin neat side up and brush the saffron butter all over the skin. Roast for the calculated time, brushing it with butter a couple of times more. Cover the turkey with foil if it’s browning too much in the last half-hour. Rest under loose foil for 20 minutes before carving.