Mains

Peach and ginger roast turkey

Roast turkey just got more interesting. Here, we've basted it with an Asian-inspired sticky peach glaze then roasted it to a beautifully rich finish.
William Meppem
8 - 10
45M
3H
3H 45M

The Christmas turkey just got more interesting, basted with an Asian-inspired sticky peach glaze and roasted to a beautifully rich finish. We’ve kept things light and fresh by serving the bird with a peach, rice and spring onion salad. If you have the time (and space in your fridge), you could brine the turkey overnight for an even juicier result.

Ingredients

Peach and ginger glaze
Peach and brown rice salad

Method

Main

1.For peach and ginger glaze, heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, then sauté spring onion until softened (1-2 minutes). Add ginger and garlic and stir until fragrant, then add remaining ingredients and simmer until peach breaks down (5-6 minutes). Discard star anise and process mixture in a food processor until smooth, then cool to room temperature. Glaze can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container.
2.Preheat oven to 200C. Place turkey in a large roasting pan, stuff cavity with ginger, spring onion, reserved spring onion tops (from glaze) and garlic, tuck wings under and truss legs with kitchen string. Brush turkey with soy sauce, drizzle with a little oil, rub well into skin, then roast until skin begins to turn golden (20-30 minutes). Reduce oven to 170C, generously brush turkey all over with peach and ginger glaze and roast, basting occasionally with glaze, until juices run clear when pierced with a skewer, or internal temperature of breast reads 71C and thigh reads 82C on a meat thermometer (2-2½ hours; cover breasts with a lightly oiled piece of foil partway through cooking to prevent browning too much). Loosely cover with foil and rest for 30 minutes.
3.Meanwhile, for peach and brown rice salad, place rice, 500ml water and 1 tsp salt in a saucepan, bring to the boil, cover with a lid, reduce heat to very low and cook for 40 minutes without uncovering. Remove saucepan from heat and stand without uncovering for 10 minutes. Tip rice into a bowl and cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, blanch sugar snap peas until bright green (1-2 minutes), then drain, refresh again and add to rice along with peaches, pea tendrils, coriander and spring onion. Shake ginger, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar and oils in a jar to combine. Just before serving, drizzle dressing onto salad and toss to combine. Sprinkle turkey with toasted sesame seeds and serve with peach and brown rice salad.

Related stories