Celebrity chef Steven Saunders’ Turkey Wellington recipe: ‘It’s one of my favourite turkey dishes’

Celebrity chef Steven Saunders shows Cambridge Independent readers how to cook turkey wellington.

This is one of my favourite turkey dishes. The crispy pastry and chestnut stuffing with moist turkey makes it a memorable meal and it should be considered for Christmas Day.

At my restaurant we make individual ones, but you can of course make one large one and make it the centrepiece!

My restaurant recipe is complicated and involves truffle and mushroom duxelle on top of the ham slices, so that when you roll it up it is under the ham.

The recipe I am giving you is simpler and a version without the sous vide machine. If you want the more complex version, contact me.

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Chef Steven’s Turkey Wellington (serves 4-6)

Ingredients

1.5kg of turkey breast (desinewed and deboned) - see your butcher
Seasoning and Maldon salt
6 slices of Serrano ham (2 packs usually)
300g shop bought butter puff pastry
2 egg yolks

And you’ll need:
Parchment baking paper
Cling film

For the stuffing

1 tablespoon butter
250g of cooked chestnuts
Juice and rind of 1 orange
1 teaspoon of dried sage
½ kilo of good quality sausagemeat
150g of dried apricots, chopped finely
150g of panko crumbs or breadcrumbs
Seasoning

The turkey

In the restaurant I sous vide the turkey with herbs and some spices in the water bath in a sealed vac pack. The reason for this is to get the turkey cooked but keep it moist.

You can do the same without the sous vide - see below.

Method

Make the stuffing by mixing all the ingredients together and season.

Pound the turkey breast a little with a rolling pin between cling film and stuff with the uncooked stuffing mix, then roll it in cling film tightly into a round cylinder and tie the ends so that it is secure. You may need more cling film to create the ends.

Now poach in water at 70C for about two hours. You will need a temperature probe. Or set the sous vide for the same temperature.

When it is cooked, remove the cling film and allow the turkey to cool

When cool; arrange the ham slightly overlapping on a board and roll the turkey into the ham.

Finally roll the turkey in the butter puff pastry and cover it neatly and, if you like, make some Christmas tree shapes from the ends of the pastry for the top of the wellington. Refrigerate until totally cold. You can do this the day before.

To finish, using a pastry brush, coat the wellington in the egg yolk and pierce a little hole in the centre to allow the steam to escape.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the pastry is deliciously golden

Allow to rest and then place in the centre of your Christmas table

Slice in 2cm pieces and serve with a turkey gravy, finished with some fresh cranberries or you can use blueberries.

Serve with all the trimmings like you would for a roast turkey meal.