Tacchinella alla Melagrana, Turkey with Pomagranites:
Roast a turkey chop it, and heat it through with pomagranite sauce. A tasty way to prepare a bird that will take a half hour to prepare and 2 hours to cook. To serve 4 you'll need:
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 small turkey, weighing about 3 1/2 pounds (1.5 k), with giblets
- 4 pomegranates
- 1/3 cup (70 g) unsalted butter
- A sprig of sage
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Needle and thread
Preparation:
Squeeze the juice of three of the pomegranates, and break up the fourth, setting the seeds aside.
Clean and flame the turkey to remove pinfeathers. Place half the butter, salt and pepper to taste, and a few leaves of sage in the cavity and sew it shut. Set the bird in a pan with the remaining butter and 2 tablespoons of oil, and roast it in a 320 F (160 C) oven for an hour, basting it occasionally. Pour the juice of two of the pomegranates over the bird and roast it for an hour longer, basting it more often.
In the meantime, finely mince the giblets and sauté them gently in two tablespoons of oil. After about 10 minutes stir in the remaining pomegranate juice. Cook, stirring for 5 more minutes; the sauce should be creamy.
As soon as the turkey is done (the juices should run clear if you insert a skewer into a joint) remove it from the oven, untie it, and cut it into pieces. Turn the oven up to 500 F (250 C) and as it's heating return the turkey pieces to the pan. Sprinkle the sauce over them, salt and pepper lightly, sprinkle the pomegranate seeds, and roast the bird for 5 minutes at high heat. Serve.
The wine? A moderately zesty red with slightly sweet overtones, for example a Valpolicella.
Clean and flame the turkey to remove pinfeathers. Place half the butter, salt and pepper to taste, and a few leaves of sage in the cavity and sew it shut. Set the bird in a pan with the remaining butter and 2 tablespoons of oil, and roast it in a 320 F (160 C) oven for an hour, basting it occasionally. Pour the juice of two of the pomegranates over the bird and roast it for an hour longer, basting it more often.
In the meantime, finely mince the giblets and sauté them gently in two tablespoons of oil. After about 10 minutes stir in the remaining pomegranate juice. Cook, stirring for 5 more minutes; the sauce should be creamy.
As soon as the turkey is done (the juices should run clear if you insert a skewer into a joint) remove it from the oven, untie it, and cut it into pieces. Turn the oven up to 500 F (250 C) and as it's heating return the turkey pieces to the pan. Sprinkle the sauce over them, salt and pepper lightly, sprinkle the pomegranate seeds, and roast the bird for 5 minutes at high heat. Serve.
The wine? A moderately zesty red with slightly sweet overtones, for example a Valpolicella.
