Olive oil turkey - Yenra

Carapelli Olive Oil offers Tuscan-inspired recipes that promise more flavor, less fat, including the following for Tuscan roast turkey.

Tuscan Roast Turkey Serving Size: 16 Categories: Main Dish

Ingredients

• 16 pound young turkey: remove giblets, rinse, pat dry
• Kosher salt
• 1 cup Tuscan herb paste
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds: crushed
• 2 teaspoons celery salt
• 3 fennel stalks with fronds: rough chopped
• 3 onions: large dice * 1 stalk celery: small dice
• 2 1/4 quarts chicken stock
• 3 ounces all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Remove the giblets from the turkey's cavity, rinse cavity and pat dry, set aside. Season the turkey inside and out with kosher salt.
2. Mix Tuscan herb paste with crushed fennel seeds and celery salt.
3. Starting at the neck of the bird, slip your hand between the meat and the skin to loosen. Rub half the paste mix under the skin, and rub the remaining paste inside the cavity and over the rest of the turkey.
4. Season all over with kosher salt.
5. Place the two-thirds of the chopped onion and fennel stalks inside the cavity. Truss the bird. # Place the turkey in a roasting pan. Roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
6. Reduce the temperature to 325 degrees and continue cooking the turkey to an internal temperature of 160 degrees, approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
7. Baste the turkey often during cooking with juices from the pan. If the turkey begins to overbrown, cover it loosely with aluminum foil.
8. As the turkey roasts, simmer the giblets (neck, heart and gizzard), the other 1/3 of the fennel stalk, onion mix and diced celery in 1 quart of the chicken stock until tender, approximately 1 1/2 hours.
9. Remove the turkey from the roasting pan and set aside to rest.
10. Degrease the roasting pan, reserving 3 ounces of the fat to make a roux.
11. Deglaze the pan with a small amount of chicken stock. Transfer the stock to a saucepot, and add the remaining stock and the broth from the giblets. Bring to a simmer and degrease.
12. Make a blond roux with the reserved fat and the flour. Add the roux to the liquid, whisking well to prevent lumps. Simmer 15 minutes. Strain the gravy through a china cap. Adjust seasoning.

Tuscan Herb Paste

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Carapelli Light In Taste Olive Oil
• 1 cup Carapelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) fresh basil
• 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) fresh rosemary
• 1/2 packed cup fresh Italian parsley
• 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) fresh thyme
• 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) fresh sage
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions

1. Blend Herbs and crushed red pepper with Carapelli Light In Taste Olive Oil using a blender or food processor.
2. Stir in Carapelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil. By using three-quarters of a teaspoon of olive oil for every one teaspoon of butter or margarine, chefs at home can reduce the fat in holiday favorites by up to 25 percent. Olive oil is high in monounsaturated fat, which helps lower LDL (low-density lipoproteins), the bad cholesterol, without lowering levels of HDL (high-density lipoproteins), the good cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats a lower the risk for health problems and help to maintain a healthy weight and reduce belly fat.