Healthy Turkey Recipe for Noël

How to prepare the Classic Roast Turkey with Fresh Herbs:

12 servings (serving size: 170g turkey and 1/4 cup gravy); 1 serving contains approximately 380 calories.

Ingredients:
• 5 kg fresh or frozen turkey, thawed
•2 cups chopped onion (about 1 medium)
•1 teaspoon salt
•1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•6 thyme branches, coarsely chopped
•6 sage branches, coarsely chopped
•6 oregano branches, coarsely chopped
•6 parsley branches, coarsely chopped
•4 rosemary branches, coarsely chopped
•1 tablespoon canola oil
•2 cups water

>Step 1: Preheat oven to 325°.

>Step 2: Remove and discard giblets and neck from turkey. Trim excess fat. Combine chopped onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, thyme, chopped sage, oregano, parsley, and rosemary branches in a small bowl. Stuff body cavity with onion mixture. Tie legs together with kitchen string. Rub turkey with canola oil and splash the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cover breast with foil. Place turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack in a roasting pan. Pour 2 cups water into pan.

>Step 3: Bake at 325° for 1 1/2 hours; remove foil, and baste turkey with pan juices. Add 1 cup water to pan, if needed. Then bake an additional hour or until a thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh registers 165°, basting every 30 minutes. After that, remove turkey from oven; let stand at least 30 minutes before carving. Discard onion mixture and skin.

>Step 4: Place a zip-top plastic bag inside a 2-cup glass measure. Pour the leaks from pan into bag; let stand 10 minutes; see the fat rise to the top. Seal bag and drain drippings into a bowl, stopping before fat layer reaches opening; discard fat.

>Step 5: Place the roasting pan over two burners on medium heat and then add the turkey drippings, the gravy sauce, and 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage and then reduce heat, and cook until the gravy mixture is reduced to 3 cups, stirring occasionally (about 5 minutes).

How to prepare the Gravy Sauce?

12 servings (serving size: 1/4 cup); 1 serving contains approximately 30 calories.

Ingredients:
•3 tablespoons flour
•2 tablespoons light butter, softened
•5 cups Roasted Turkey Stock
•2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

>Step 1: Combine the flour and the light butter in a medium bowl.

>Step 2: Heat a large saucepan over high heat. Add 2 cups stock; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 5 minutes). Add the remaining 3 cups stock; bring to a boil.

>Step 3: Stir 1 cup stock into flour mixture, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Pour mixture into saucepan; reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in sage, salt, and black pepper.

Christelle Bedrossian
Dietitian-Nutritionist
Beirut, Lebanon