Orange Tarragon Gravy Recipes

ORANGE & TARRAGON ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line a roasting tin with a very generous length of double-thickness foil. Weigh the turkey to calculate the cooking time, allowing 40 mins per kg for the first 4kg, then 50 mins for every kg over that weight (a turkey this size should take 3½-4 hrs).
• Put the butter in a bowl and finely grate the zest from the orange on top. Add the chopped tarragon, garlic and seasoning and mix well. You can make this 3 days ahead.
• Gently push your fingers under the turkey skin, starting from the neck end of the bird, easing the skin away from the breast and the top of the drumsticks. Now spread the flavoured butter under the skin, taking care not to tear it. You won't be able to reach all the way down to the drumsticks, but you can ease the butter along by smoothing it through the skin. Quarter the orange and tuck into the turkey cavity with the onion and the bunch of tarragon (step-by-step). You can do this the night before.
• Season the turkey with salt and pepper, then lift it onto the foil-lined roasting tin. Pour the wine into the cavity of the turkey, then bring up the sides of the foil and cover the top of the bird with a layer of foil. Roast according to your calculated time.
• Thirty mins before the end of cooking time, remove the foil from the top of the turkey and add the potatoes to the oven.
• To test if the turkey is cooked, pierce the fattest part of the thigh with a skewer - the juices that run out should be clear, not pink. If they are pink, continue to roast, checking at 10-min intervals.
• Remove the turkey, transfer to a warm serving platter and let it rest, covered loosely with the foil, for 30-40 mins before carving. Meanwhile, turn up the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and cook the potatoes for 30 mins more, with the stuffing and sausages. Serve the turkey decorated with herbs.

ROASTED ORANGE-TARRAGON CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Remove and discard giblet, if any. Rinse hens inside and out and pat dry. Loosen skin from the breasts and place hens in a large resealable plastic bag.
• Whisk orange juice, orange zest, tarragon, garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Whisking continually, slowly drizzle in olive oil until combined. Pour marinade over the hens in the bag, making sure to get some under the skin. Seal bag and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Remove hens from the bag, letting excess marinade drip off; pour remaining marinade into a small saucepan and set aside. Place hens in a small roasting pan and season with salt and pepper. Tie legs together with kitchen twine and tuck wing tips underneath.
• Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue cooking, basting with pan juices every 10 to 15 minutes, until hens are golden brown and internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), 25 to 30 minutes more.
• Transfer hens to a serving plate, pouring any cavity juices back into the roasting pan. Tent with aluminum foil and keep warm.
• Scrape pan juices and pour through a strainer into the saucepan with the reserved marinade. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Season sauce with salt and pepper, if necessary.
• Serve Cornish hens whole or cut in half. Spoon pan sauce over hens to serve.

ORANGE ROUGHY WITH TARRAGON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a glass baking dish, arrange orange roughy fillets and cover with olive oil.
• Sprinkle with tarragon, paprika and kosher salt.
• Bake for 25 minutes if fillets are frozen.
• Check to be sure they are done--you can usually tell by looking, because the fish will have shrunk quite a bit from cooking.
• It will also flake when prodded with a fork.
• I served this with some roasted brussel sprouts (roasted in a 375 degree oven at the same time as the fish was cooking, sprinkled with olive oil and kosher salt. YUM!).