Rosemary Conley's stuffed turkey crown recipe

Rosemary Conley's stuffed turkey crown brings all the festive flavours without ruining your waistline.

Turkey is brilliant meat if you’re watching your weight. It’s really low in fat and packed with protein so it fills you up and helps you burn fat without losing muscle. It only takes a few small tweaks to make a meal like Christmas Dinner and turn it into something much healthier. By choosing a turkey crown instead of the whole bird you are going for just the particularly lean breast meat. Losing the butter for the stuffing and using low-fat sausages and brown breadcrumbs means you still get plenty of festive flavour, but fewer calories.

Ingredients

• 1 x 1.8kg turkey crown
• 1 head celery
• 1 red onion, peeled
• redcurrants to garnish

For the stuffing:

• 2 leeks, finely chopped
• 100g granary breadcrumbs
• 100g 95% fat-free sausages, chopped
• 2tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1tsp vegetable stock powder

Method

1. Make the stuffing by dry-frying the leeks in a preheated non-stick pan until soft. Spoon into a mixing bowl, then mix in the remaining ingredients, adding a little boiling water from a kettle. Put aside and leave to cool.
2. Weigh the turkey and calculate the cooking time from the instructions given (or allow 15 minutes per 450g plus an extra 20 minutes). Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas 5.
3. Pat the turkey dry with kitchen paper. Place the prepared stuffing under the skin, then fold the skin over to keep the stuffing in place.
4. Place the head of celery on a wire rack and sit the turkey on top.
5. Cut the onion into wedges and arrange around the turkey.
6. Place the wire rack into the roasting tin and pour 600ml water into the tin, around the rack.
7. Cover with foil and roast in the oven, basting occasionally with the juices.
8. Remove the turkey from the oven and allow to rest for 5-15 mins before carving.
9. Garnish with redcurrants and serve with a selection of side dishes.

Top tips for making Rosemary Conley's stuffed turkey crown

Sitting the turkey ahead of celery adds flavour and also stops the joint from moving around during cooking.

Traditionally you can check a turkey is done by skewering the meat of the leg to see if the juices run clear, however with a crown you may find there are not enough juices for this. Instead, use a meat thermometer to check the turkey is done all the way through.

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