TASTE OF SUMMER FACT
This festive season we have given roast turkey the year off but not wanting to lose the festive spirit, we have replaced it with a special dish which we are sure your family and friends will enjoy!
Roasted Christmas spatchcock filled with a delicious stuffing of prosciutto, cranberries and pistachios and served with an old style pan gravy made with thyme and cranberry sauce.
INGREDIENTS
- 80g Unsalted Butter
- 150g Brown Onion – finely dice.
- 2 Garlic Cloves – peel and finely dice.
- 8 Sprigs Lemon Thyme – remove leaves, rinse and drain.
- 60g Prosciutto – cut into a 1cm dice.
- 80g Dried Cranberries
- 60g Shelled, Unsalted Pistachio Nuts – roughly chop.
- 80g Breadcrumbs
- 60 Flat Leaf Parsley Leaves – rinse, drain and roughly chop.
- 4 tsp Cranberry Sauce
- 80ml Chicken Stock
- To Taste – Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Egg – crack and beat.
- 4 x Spatchcocks
- As Required Butcher’s Twine
- As Required Spray Olive Oil
- To Taste – Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 25g Unsalted Butter
- 1 Garlic Clove – peel and finely dice.
- 5 Sprigs Thyme – rinse and drain.
- 25g Plain Flour
- 670ml Chicken Stock – warm.
- 40g Cranberry Sauce
- 15ml Balsamic Vinegar
METHOD
- Pre-heat an oven to 160oC. Melt butter over moderate heat, add onion and sauté until it has softened. Add the garlic and thyme and continue to sauté for a further minute. Then, add the prosciutto and continue to sauté for a further minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Add onion mixture, cranberries, pistachios, breadcrumbs, parsley, cranberry sauce and chicken stock to a bowl and mix until combined, season to taste. Finally add the egg and mix until combined.
- Place an equal portion of the stuffing mixture into the cavity of each spatchcock. Tie the legs of each spatchcock together tightly with butcher’s twine.
- Lightly oil a deep sided roasting tray. Place the spatchcocks onto the roasting tray breast side up and tuck the wings under the body of the spatchcock.
- Lightly spray each spatchcock with olive oil and season to taste. Place in oven and roast for 25 minutes or until the skin is crisp and golden and the spatchcocks are just cooked through. During the cooking process, baste the spatchcock 2-3 times with the juices at the bottom of the pan. Once cooked, remove tray from oven, cover with aluminium foil and set to one side to rest for 10 minutes.
- Whilst the spatchcocks’ are roasting, melt butter over a moderate heat. once it begins to bubble, add the garlic and thyme and sauté for 1 minute. Then add the plain flour and stir continuously for 2 minutes.
- In small quantities, gradually add the warm chicken stock, ensuring each amount is fully incorporated into the butter and flour mixture to form a smooth consistency before the addition of the next quantity of chicken stock.
- Add the cranberry sauce and balsamic vinegar to the pan gravy and mix to combine them. Bring the sauce up to the boil whilst stirring continuously then reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer. Allow the pan gravy to simmer for 5 minutes or until it has thickened. Remove and discard the thyme sprigs. Carefully add the pan juices from the spatchcock’s roasting tray and mix until combined. Bring the pan gravy back to the boil. Remove from the heat. Strain through a fine sieve to remove any solids, then pour the pan gravy into a clean saucepan and keep warm.
TO SERVE
Place the cranberry and thyme pan gravy into a serving jug. Place the spatchcocks onto a serving platter and serve each spatchcock, lightly drizzled with the pan gravy.
