Thanksgiving recipes: From pasta to a roast with a twist, try two new takes on turkey

It’s time to talk turkey with these two recipes that celebrate Thanksgiving.

Many Scots have relatives living Stateside, while Scotland is also home to lots of American families.

On Thursday November 26, they’ll celebrate Thanksgiving Day and enjoy a special meal, which generally has turkey taking pride of place.

A leaner meat than chicken, turkey is a good source of B vitamins, selenium, zinc and phosphorus.

It’s also pretty versatile and can be used in a number of dishes that are simple to prepare.

Here we share two recipes which will make you want to join in the celebrations whether you have any US connections or not, and tuck into turkey long before Christmas Day.

The first, a stuffed roast turkey fillet, is perfect for an informal family meal or to share with friends when things go back to normal.

British turkey fillets are stuffed with sausage meat, Fenland celery and walnut, before being wrapped with streaky bacon.

Serve with all the festive trimmings if you’re looking for an alternative to a traditional whole roast turkey dinner on December 25.

If it’s a quick and easy family supper in front of the fire you’re after, Carina Contini’s turkey and pasta recipe is ideal – and handy for using up turkey leftovers.

Roast turkey fillet with celery, walnut and sausage stuffing

(Serves 6-8) 

Ingredients

• 1-1.2kg British turkey fillet
• Butter, melted
• 12-16 rashers of dry-cure smoked, streaky bacon

For the stuffing:

• 450g sausage meat
• 6 shallots, peeled and finely diced
• 4 sticks Fenland celery, diced
• 75g walnuts, chopped
• 100g fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage leaves
• 1 free range egg, beaten
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/ Fan 160C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
2. Butter a large roasting tin. Cut open the fillet and beat with a wooden mallet until it is has increased in size by a third – be careful not to make any holes in the meat.
3. Brush some melted butter over the turkey and season with salt and pepper.
4. Mix all the stuffing ingredients together and season with salt and pepper.
5. Make a long sausage shape with the stuffing mix and place it in the middle of the turkey fillet. Roll the turkey meat around to cover all the stuffing.
6. Carefully wrap the streaky bacon around the fillet, tucking the ends underneath.
7. With a spatula, lift it into the buttered roasting tin. Tuck any stray pieces of bacon underneath if necessary.
8. Add 6 tbsp of water and cover with foil before roasting for 40 minutes per kilo plus 20 minutes (1kg takes 1 hour).
9. Remove the foil for the last 15-20 minutes so the bacon crisps up.
10. Once out of the oven, cover loosely in foil again and allow to stand for 10-15 minutes before cutting into slices and serving with seasonal vegetables and potatoes.
11. Use the juices from the roasting tin to make a gravy.

Recipe from lovecelery.co.uk

Nonna’s leftover turkey pasta

(Serves 4) 

Ingredients

• 350-400g penne or casarecce pasta
• 200g cooked turkey meat, cut into small slices the size of your pinkie
• 400ml Graham’s double cream
• 100g finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 8 sun dried tomatoes in oil, sliced
• 30g Graham’s unsalted butter
• 2 large handfuls freshly washed spinach leaves
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Boil the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water.
2. While it’s cooking melt the butter in a large frying pan, and warm through the turkey.
3. Add the sun dried tomatoes and cream and raise the heat until it starts to bubble.
4. Add the spinach and cook until it has wilted and the cream has thickened.
5. Add the cheese and season with salt and black pepper.
6. Drain the pasta and reserve a little of the cooking water.
7. Add the pasta to the sauce.
8. If necessary, thin down the sauce with 1 or 2 tbsp of the reserved cooking water.
9. Serve with more grated Parmigiano.

Recipe by Carina Contini for Graham’s the Family Dairy.