Jamie's Turkey Wellington with all the trimmings

By Chris,

Main Ingredients:

• 1kg turkey breast
• 1/2 jar cranberry sauce
• Smoked lardons
• Duck liver pate and puff pastry

I hadn't planned to do a festive post, but after watching Jamie's Christmas with Bells On, I was inspired to try something new on Christmas Day. The turkey Wellington recipe takes all the best parts of a roast and wraps them all inside a puff pastry crust. It was quite stressful to make, but in the end it was a total triumph.

First separate the turkey breast from the carcass and the skin. It's best to buy a crown (as I did) so you only get breast meat, but if you have a full bird then Jamie suggests making gravy out of one of the legs.

Next, split open the breast, season, oil, and smear it with the cranberry sauce. The breast I was using fell in half when I took the skin off, so I had to pin it back together with several cocktail sticks before seasoning with thyme, covering with tin foil and whacking it in the oven at gas mark 4 for an hour.

Next the meat was left to cool while the bacon and the pate were prepared. Jamie suggested making a mushroom pate out of dried porcini, but I HATE mushrooms, so I used a pack of duck liver pate instead - much easier and tastier.

The bacon was then fried in olive oil until crispy and a few sprigs of rosemary were added at the last minute. Thinly chopped streaky bacon was called for, but I used a pack of lardons instead and whacked them in the food processor, once fried, to make a nice crumbly topping.

To assemble the Wellington, simply lay out half the roll of puff pastry, spread over a layer of pate, then plonk the bird on top. Then top with more pate (this uses up about half a pack) and the bacon bits. The remainder of the pastry goes on top and is crimped to resemble a giant cornish pastie.

I then baked this mammoth concoction for another hour at gas mark 4 until crispy and golden on top. I was terrified that I might either undercook the meat and ruin everyone's Christmas by salmonella, or overcook it and ruin £20 worth of turkey meat.

But it turned out to be one of the best roast turkeys I've ever had - the meat was kept nice and moist by the cranberry and the pate, and the combinations of flavours was fantastic. The pastry was a bit soggy and could have done with more time, but I'd definitely try this again. 

I'm not even going to bother trying to calculate the price per head, but let's say it was more than a fiver each, when you add roasts, sprouts, parsnips and all the essential add-ons.

So thanks for reading us all through the year, have great time over the Christmas holidays and we hope you try some new food in 2012!

Best for... Christmas lunch with a luxurious twist that you won't regret

Taken from... Jamie Oliver - Christmas with Bells On

Helen says... Everything you want from your turkey - moist, sweet and smoky. Well done and Merry Christmas!