Ingredients

Serves 6-8 as a meal or 12 as part of a Christmas banquet

3 leeks, trimmed and quartered lengthways
3 onions, peeled and sliced thinly
2 boned turkey breasts, skin on approximately 1kg in weight each
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup verjuice
5 sprigs of thyme
1 cup chicken stock
125ml dry white wine

Apple, cranberry stuffing:
160g fresh sour dough bread crumbs
150g soft butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 stick of celery
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 apple, peeled cored finely diced
60g cranberries chopped
5 leaves of sage, finely chopped
½ cup coarsely chopped parsley
¼ cup finely grated lemon rind
2 tblsp lemon juice
2 eggs
Salt and pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Melt the butter over a moderate heat and sauté the onion and celery until soft and translucent, add in the garlic and stir for 3-4 minutes. Add the onion mix to the rest of the stuffing ingredients and using your hands mix to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Scatter the leeks and onions into a baking tray with the thyme and season to taste with a little salt and pepper.

Place the breasts, skin side down onto a chopping board. With a sharp knife make an incision into the breast creating a pocket but not cutting all the way through the breast.

Season inside the breasts with a little salt and pepper and spoon the lemon stuffing into the pockets.

Fasten the breasts with a skewer or several toothpicks or tie up the breasts with cooking string. Brush the turkey breasts with olive oil and season to taste, then add the verjuice and the chicken stock to the roasting pan.

Cover tightly with well greased foil and roast for 30 minutes, remove foil. Basting regularly, roast the breasts for a further 30 minutes until golden and juices run clear when pierced with a skewer.

Remove the breast from the pan to a plate and cover loosely with the foil for 15 minutes to allow to rest.

Strain the turkey juices into a saucepan, add in the wine and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes or until reduced by two thirds.

To serve, remove the skewers, slice the turkey breasts thickly and arrange on a platter, drizzle with the pan juices and serve the leeks separately.