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Recipe by:
Michel Nischan
Courtesy of Sustainable Table ® Ingredients:
One 16-pound heritage turkey at room temperature (see note below)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
24 cipollini or pearl onions
6 to 8 small golden beets, peeled, or 8 small purple-top turnips, peeled
5 large carrots, peeled
Sweet Potato Gravy
9 cups sweet potato juice
Reserved defatted pan drippings from roast turkey, above
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
jalapeno chilies, seeded and minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Squash Dressing
8 cups free-range chicken stock or turkey stock
One 1-pound loaf black bread, such as pumpernickel, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 large butternut or acorn squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into ½-inch cubes
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil, plus more for coating onions
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 unpeeled Vidalia or other sweet onions, halved horizontally
3 unpeeled Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into ½ inch cubes
Fresh lemon juice
12 Italian chestnuts, roasted and peeled
1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh savory leaves, plus 4 fresh savory laves, minced Directions:
Juice the sweet potatoes and set the juice aside.
To roast the turkey: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Rub the cavities and the skin of the turkey with salt and pepper.
Put the turkey in a roasting pan just large enough to hold it. Add 2 cups of the chicken broth and then tent the bird with aluminum foil. Roast, basting occasionally, for about 4 hours, or 15 minutes per pound. If the broth and pan drippings dry up, add more broth.
After 2 hours, remove the foil and add the onions, beets, and carrots. Continue to baste the turkey as the vegetables cook. Check the vegetables occasionally, since one may cook more quickly than another. When the vegetables are tender, transfer them to a warmed ovenproof serving dish and cover to keep warm.
After 3 ½ hours of cooking, begin testing the turkey for doneness with an instant-read thermometer. Raise the oven temperature to 375º to crisp the skin. When the breast reaches an internal temperature of 155 to 160 degrees, remove the bird from the oven and transfer it to a cutting board.
Pour the drippings from the roasting pan into a saucepan. You should have 5 or 6 cups of drippings.
Meanwhile, to make the gravy carefully remove as much fat as you can from the pan drippings for the gravy. Cook the defatted drippings over medium-high heat to reduce to 1 cup. Strain the settled juice through a fine-mesh sieve, being careful to leave the starch behind. You should have about 6 cups of strained juice.
Pour the strained juice into the roasting pan with the defatted pan drippings. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Transfer to a large saucepan and cook over medium heat to reduce until thickened, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the ginger and jalapenos. Strain immediately. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with the turkey.
Heirloom Squash Dressing
Recipe by Michel Nischan
Put the stock in a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 20 to 30 minutes until reduced to 4 cups. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and toast, stirring occasionally, just until crisp, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
Toss the squash with the 2 tablespoons oil to coat lightly and season with salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender. Transfer the squash to a bowl.
Rub the onions with a little oil and season with salt and pepper. Put on the baking sheet, cut-side down, and roast for 30 to 35 minutes, or until caramelized and tender. Remove from the oven, leaving the oven on. Peel the onions and cut into ½-inch cubes.
In a large bowl, toss the bread with the squash, onions, apples, chestnuts, and the 1 ½ tablespoon savory. Slowly add enough reduced stock to moisten the ingredients so that they form a cohesive mixture (you may not need all 4 cups).
Season with salt and pepper and spoon into a lightly oiled casserole. To make ahead, cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until hot and crusty. Tips:
Roasting and Peeling Chestnuts Cut an X in the flat side of each chestnut with a small, sharp knife. You will need to apply some pressure to pierce the leathery shell, so take care. Spread them on a baking sheet, X-side up, and roast in a preheated 300 degrees oven for 15 to 30 minutes, or until the skin around the incision starts to curl. At this point, take a few chestnuts from the oven and let them cool just until you can hold them without burning your fingers. Try peeling these; if they are too tough, roast them a little longer. The roasting time depends on the age and moisture of the nuts. In most batches, there are always a few chestnuts that refuse to peel. Drop these in simmering water for about 5 minutes. They should now peel easily, although they will not be quite as flavorful as the oven roasted ones. Note: A 16-pound turkey will need to be removed from the refrigerator no more than 1 hour before cooking to allow some of the chill to leave it. Do not leave it out any longer. Notes:
Recipe courtesy of Heritage Foods USA , a company committed to making wholesome, delicious and sustainably produced heritage foods available to all Americans. More heritage recipes can be found on their web site at http://www.heritagefoodsusa.com. Recipe Number 98 added on 2006-10-30
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