Roast turkey with chestnuts and mushrooms

Roast chicken or roast turkey recipes are, without a doubt, some of the easiest to prepare and the most attractive when it comes to serving on the table. It's as easy as putting the main piece in the pot, accompanied by those elements that will give it flavour (herbs and spices), a good splash of oil and, from there, the oven will do all the work.

Today's recipe takes on an autumnal touch when we accompany the turkey with chestnuts and mushrooms . To give it a slightly different touch, we'll caramelize the accompaniment before putting it in the cocotte. A very simple step, but one that will help give it a special touch.

I hope this recipe will accompany you on Sundays or holidays with your family. All your guests will smile when you bring the result to the table.

Ingredients (for 4-6 people)

• A 3 to 4kg turkey (you can also make it with chicken)
• 2 fresh sprigs of thyme, sage and rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 5 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2-3 large knobs of butter
• 3 onions
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 100gr of bacon (pancetta) cut into squares
• 250gr mushrooms cut in half
• 400gr of peeled chestnuts
• Salt and pepper, and Espelette pepper (optional)

Le Creuset oval cocotte , Le Creuset mills and Le Creuset Damascus steel knives

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. Stuff the turkey with the sprigs of thyme, sage and rosemary, the bay leaves and garlic. Add salt and pepper to the inside.
3. Add the butter to the cast iron cocotte and place the turkey in it. Season the outside with salt and pepper and add the oil to the cocotte, also sprinkling the turkey in due time.
4. Add more garlic around the turkey and more rosemary and bay leaves if you like, it will be more aromatic.
5. Put the cocotte in the oven for approximately 1 to 1½ hours, without the lid. During cooking, you can baste the turkey with its own juices using a spoon.
6. In a cast iron pan , put the onion, diced bacon, olive oil and sugar to caramelize for three minutes. When three minutes have passed, add the chestnuts and mushrooms seasoned with salt and pepper and stir to mix well.
7. Next, add this mixture around the turkey and leave it in the oven for another 30 minutes, also without the lid of the cocotte.

Grades

• We have used turkey but you can follow the recipe exactly the same using chicken, either whole or cut into quarters.
• If you are using a whole chicken or turkey, it is recommended to use an oval cocotte , it is the perfect shape for this. If you are cutting it into quarters, you can use a round cocotte .
• You can substitute the use of butter, but be generous with the use of oil, it will be better roasted, tasty and tender (without it it will also be drier).