Turkey Roulade with Pork, Sage and Onion Stuffing

This recipe is for those who want to enjoy all the traditional flavours of Christmas without having to go through the whole turkey-cooking marathon. Serve with bread sauce and cranberry sauce if you like.

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Method

First of all, take the turkey escalopes and place them one at a time between 2 pieces of clingfilm. Take a rolling pin and gently roll each escalope so it measures about 9 inches (23cm) long by 4 inches (10cm) wide and 1/4 inch (5mm) thick. It does not matter if these measurements are not perfect!

Next, mix the stuffing ingredients together. Then, take one of the flattened escalopes and a quarter of the stuffing and roll it into a sausage the same length as the escalope (dampen your hands with water if the stuffing is sticky) and place the sausage-shaped stuffing 1 inch (2.5cm) from one side of the length and carefully roll the turkey around the stuffing. Repeat with the other escalopes. Then, taking one rasher of bacon, wrap it round one of the roulades, starting at one end, overlapping it slightly until the roulade is completely wrapped. Then do the same with the other 3 rashers - you need 4 for each roulade. Repeat with the other 3 roulades. Cover and chill for a minimum of 2 hours.

When you are ready to cook the turkey, preheat the oven to gas mark 6, 200C. Place the 4 roulades, well apart, in the greased roasting tin and roast on the middle shelf of the oven for 35-40 minutes or until crispy and firm to the touch. Remove the roulades from the tin and then cover them with a sheet of foil to keep warm. To make the gravy, place the roasting tin over direct heat turned to fairly low, and when the juices begin to sizzle, sprinkle in the plain flour, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon til you get a smooth paste.

Then mix the wine with the stock and add it, little by little, exchanging the wooden spoon for a whisk. Whisk thoroughly until the stock and wine are incorporated and bring it to simmering point, then let it bubble and reduce for about 5 minutes. Then taste and season with salt and freshly milled black pepper and pour into a warmed serving jug. To serve, slice each roulade diagonally into 3 or 4 pieces and place on a warm serving dish.