This is easy to do, pretty, and quick to prepare, but requires 3 1/2 hours' roasting time. As a side dish you might want cardoons, and in particular cardi gratinati -- make cardoni con la besciamella and run them under a broiler briefly.
To serve 8:
To serve 8:
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Ingredients:
- A cleaned turkey weighing about 6 1/2 pounds (3 k)
- 4 ounces (100 g) thinly sliced pancetta
- A sprig of fresh sage
- The leaves of an 8-inch (20 cm) sprig of fresh rosemary, about 1/3 cup
- 4 pomegranates
- 1/3 cup brandy
- 2/3 cup (120 g) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Preparation:
Begin by seeding one of the pomegranates. Next, flame the bird to remove stray feathers, and rub it with a cloth moistened with water and vinegar to get rid of the smell of burned feathers. Wash the bird in cool water inside and out, and pat it dry.
Season the outside with salt and pepper.
Mince the rosemary and the sage, and combine them with half the seeds of the first pomegranate, a dusting of salt and pepper, and 1/3 cup of butter. Fill the cavity with this mixture and sew it shut. Lay the slices of pancetta over the breast of the bird and tie them in place. Chill the remaining butter.
In the meantime, heat your oven to 360 F (180 C). Put the bird on a rack in a roasting pan and rub it with the oil, then pour the white wine into the pan and set the bird in the oven. Roast it for an hour, basting it occasionally.
In the meantime, seed the remaining pomegranates and extract the juice from their seeds (do not squeeze the remaining seeds from the first pomegranate). Set 1/3 cup (80 ml) of the juice aside and dilute the remainder with the brandy. Turn the bird on one side and spoon some of the brandy-laced juices over it. Roast for a half hour longer, turn the bird on its other side, and repeat the process. At this point remove the bird from the oven, untie the string holding the pancetta in place, and remove it. Roast the turkey, breast up, for another hour, basting often. Reduce the heat to 320 F (160 C) and roast a half hour longer.
While the bird is roasting you should see to the sauce: Scoop out a quarter cup of pan drippings and put them in a pot, with the reserved juice. Cook for 5 minutes over a moderate flame, then crumble the butter that you set aside to chill into the sauce, and continue cooking for a minute, stirring gently. Remove the pot from the fire, stir in the remaining pomegranate seeds, and transfer everything to a gravy boat.
Remove the bird to a serving platter and serve it with the sauce, and cardoons as a side dish. A Sauvignon Blanc would be nice.
As a variation, use three juicy oranges instead of pomegranates.
Season the outside with salt and pepper.
Mince the rosemary and the sage, and combine them with half the seeds of the first pomegranate, a dusting of salt and pepper, and 1/3 cup of butter. Fill the cavity with this mixture and sew it shut. Lay the slices of pancetta over the breast of the bird and tie them in place. Chill the remaining butter.
In the meantime, heat your oven to 360 F (180 C). Put the bird on a rack in a roasting pan and rub it with the oil, then pour the white wine into the pan and set the bird in the oven. Roast it for an hour, basting it occasionally.
In the meantime, seed the remaining pomegranates and extract the juice from their seeds (do not squeeze the remaining seeds from the first pomegranate). Set 1/3 cup (80 ml) of the juice aside and dilute the remainder with the brandy. Turn the bird on one side and spoon some of the brandy-laced juices over it. Roast for a half hour longer, turn the bird on its other side, and repeat the process. At this point remove the bird from the oven, untie the string holding the pancetta in place, and remove it. Roast the turkey, breast up, for another hour, basting often. Reduce the heat to 320 F (160 C) and roast a half hour longer.
While the bird is roasting you should see to the sauce: Scoop out a quarter cup of pan drippings and put them in a pot, with the reserved juice. Cook for 5 minutes over a moderate flame, then crumble the butter that you set aside to chill into the sauce, and continue cooking for a minute, stirring gently. Remove the pot from the fire, stir in the remaining pomegranate seeds, and transfer everything to a gravy boat.
Remove the bird to a serving platter and serve it with the sauce, and cardoons as a side dish. A Sauvignon Blanc would be nice.
As a variation, use three juicy oranges instead of pomegranates.
