Recipe: Date and macadamia nut roast turkey

Roast turkey with date and macadamia stuffing. Photo / Babiche Martens.

Date and macadamia nut roast turkey

Serves 10-12

Brine:
• 1 turkey - 4-6 kg
• 1½ cups salt
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 onions, halved
• 12 cloves garlic peeled
• 2 litres water

1. Remove giblets from turkey and boil to make stock for gravy. Place turkey in a large container.

2. In a large pot place salt, sugar, onion, garlic and water. Bring to a simmer and dissolve the salt and sugar to make a brine. Cool.

3. Pour brine over the turkey. Top up with water if necessary to ensure turkey is covered. Refrigerate for 12-18 hours.

Stuffing:
• 150g dates, each cut into 3
• 25g butter
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 celery stick, sliced thinly
• 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• ¼ cup chopped sage
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 egg
• Salt and pepper
• 100g macadamia nuts, roughly chopped

To cook:
• ¼ cup chopped fresh herbs
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ litre of chicken stock or water

1. Soak dates in warm water for 15 minutes. Drain and throw away water.

2. In a frying pan, melt the butter. Add onion, garlic and celery. Cook for 5-10 minutes until softened. Remove from heat.

3. Into a large bowl place breadcrumbs, parsley, sage, onion mix, lemon, egg, and salt and pepper to taste. Combine well, then fold nuts through.

4. Remove turkey from brine. Rinse inside and out with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.

5. Preheat oven to 160C. Place turkey in a large baking dish lined with baking paper. Tuck wings under.

6. Fill cavity of the turkey with stuffing. Tie legs together with string.

7. Combine herbs and oil, and brush over top of the turkey. Pour chicken stock into the pan, cover with tinfoil and place in oven.

8. Roast for 35 minutes per kilo, plus an extra 35 minutes. Remove oil for the last hour to ensure nice browning on top.

- VIVA