Roast turkey with Iranian stuffing
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Ingredients
- 1 whole turkey, with giblets
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 3 celery stalks
- 2 cups raisins
- Dry basil
- 1/2 cup caramelized onions
- 2 tablespoons turmeric
- Saffron water (1 teaspoon ground saffron steeped in 1 cup hot water)
- 2 cups water
- 1 stick butter
- Seville orange
Directions
- Remove giblets from the turkey and set aside.
- Wash the inside of the turkey cavity and pat dry.
- Give the outside and inside of the turkey a salt rub and set aside.
- Clean and wash the rice.
- Add rice to boiling water to cook for 20 minutes. Strain excess water and set the rice aside.
- Wash and cut celery into cubes and set aside.
- Cut the turkey giblets (heart, liver) and set aside. Save the neck to put in the bottom of the roasting pan.
- Sauté the giblets, celery, raisins, dry basil and caramelized onions together.
- Add turmeric and salt and pepper.
- Add rice to the mix and let it cook together for a few minutes.
- Set mixture aside.
- Pre-heat oven to 400 F.
- Put water, saffron water, butter and turkey neck at the bottom of the roasting pan.
- Stuff the turkey with the rice mixture.
- Insert the Seville orange into the cavity. This will prevent the stuffing from coming out.
- Put turkey in roasting pan breast up.
- Cover with foil and pop into the oven for two hours while tented.
- After two hours remove the tent and baste the turkey.
- Turn oven down to 350 F and cook for another hour.
- For the final ten minutes of cooking, put the oven on a low broil.
- Remove turkey and let sit for 20 minutes before cutting.
- Use the fat and juice at the bottom of the roasting pan to make a gravy.
