Preparing your Zouk Christmas Dinner Box
The Turkey
Pre-heat your oven to 180/160C, gas mark 4 – the full cooking time is approximately 3hrs – 3.5hrs so be sure to consider this and plan ahead of when you wish to eat.
Your turkey is fully marinated and ready to roast. Simply place the turkey on a baking tray, cover it with foil and cook for 2.5hrs.
After 2.5hrs, remove the foil and place the tray back in the oven for the remainder of the cooking time to allow the skin to get golden and crispy. This is a good time to also baste your turkey with any juices at the bottom of the tray.
At the end of the cooking time pierce the turkey in the thickest part of the leg and the thickest part of the breast with a skewer – check that the juices run clear, and the meat is fully cooked.
Remove from the oven, cover with foil, and allow the bird to rest for 10- 15 minutes before carving.
A note on basting – if you don’t have a turkey baster don’t panic just scoop the juices with dessert spoon and pour them over the breast and legs of the bird. We recommend doing this when you remove the foil at about 1hrs 15m into cooking and again shortly before the end of the cooking time.
Everything Else
Please follow the steps below to ensure all components of your Zouk Christmas Dinner feast are ready at the same time.
45 Minutes before the turkey is cooked- start the potatoes.
Pre-heat the oven to 200C/180C gas mark 6. Begin about 45 minutes before the end of the turkey cooking time.
Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes, then drain well. Arrange on a baking sheet and coat in the spiced butter provided. Crush each one lightly with a dessert spoon to break the skin then bake for 20 minutes until crispy.
Transfer to Serving dish and keep warm.
Note if you are adding the potatoes to the same oven as the turkey then keep the temperature as set for the turkey and leave the potatoes cooking slightly longer due to the lower oven temperature.
30 Minutes before the turkey is cooked- start the parsnips
Cut the parsnips into batons or quarters and place a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to the boil. Once boiling turn down the heat and simmer until the parsnips are tender. This should take no more than 15 minutes. Drain well, pat the parsnip pieces dry with kitchen paper, and set aside.
Melt the spice butter in a frying pan or skillet over medium heat and place the parsnips into the hot butter in an even layer. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper (we like to use a generous amount here). Cook parsnips until lightly golden brown on both sides and tender in the centre, roughly 5 to 8 minutes per side should be enough.
Transfer to a serving dish and keep warm.
20 minutes before the turkey is cooked- start the carrots
Slice the carrots or cut into batons. Place the carrots in a pan of boiling water for 8-10 minutes or steam for 10 minutes.
Drain and transfer to a hot frying pan. Finish by gently sautéing them with the chilli and garlic oil until well coated.
Transfer to serving dish and keep warm.
10 minutes before the turkey is cooked- start the sprouts
Steam or simmer sprouts for 3 minutes – the sprouts can be left whole.
Drain and transfer to a hot frying pan or wok and stir-fry for several minutes in the chilli and garlic oil until the colour a little.
Transfer to a serving dish and keep warm. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice just before serving.
At this point the turkey will be ready and it is a good idea to transfer it to your serving dish and cover with foil. Place on the table along with your carving knife so it can sit and rest while you get all the other veg onto the table.
Once the turkey is removed from the oven and resting.
Prepare the Gravy
Simply pour the gravy into a pan and place on low heat until bubbling. This should take no more than 5 minutes.
Transfer to a gravy boat and you are ready to go.
Your festive dinner is ready to serve. Merry Christmas
Ingredients and allergen info:
Turkey Marinade
Mustard paste (MUSTARD), Mustard Oil (MUSTARD), Lemon Juice, Yoghurt (MILK), Ginger, Garlic, Salt, Chilli Powder, Turmeric, Fenugreek
Indian Gravy
Water, Vegetable Oil, Onion, ginger, Garlic, Turmeric, Coriander Powder, Cumin Powder, Chilli Powder, Salt
Spiced Butter
Butter (DAIRY), Chilli Powder, Fresh Chilies, Cumin
Zouk Chilli Oil
Vegetable Oil, Ginger, Fresh Chilli, Fenugreek, Mustard Seeds (MUSTARD), Cumin Seeds, Coriander seeds, Chilli Seeds
*Please note allergens in bold
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