- 1 (16 pound) young turkey: remove giblets, rinse, pat dry
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup Tuscan herb paste (see step 1 below)
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
- 2 teaspoons celery salt
- 3 stalks fennel with fronds, rough chopped
- 3 onions, large dice
- 1 stalk celery, small dice
- 2 1/4 quarts chicken stock
- 3 ounces all-purpose flour
- Tuscan herb paste:
- 3/4 cup Carapelli Extra Light in Taste Olive Oil
- 1 cup Carapelli Premium 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 ounce fresh basil
- 1 ounce chopped fresh rosemary
- 1/2 cup packed fresh Italian parsley
- 1/2 ounce fresh thyme
- 1 ounce fresh sage
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- To make Tuscan herb paste: Blend herbs and crushed red pepper with Carapelli Extra Light in Taste Olive Oil using a blender or food processor. Stir in Carapelli Premium 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
- For the turkey: Remove the giblets from the turkey's cavity, rinse cavity and pat dry, set aside. Season the turkey inside and out with kosher salt.
- Mix Tuscan herb paste with crushed fennel seeds and celery salt.
- Starting at the neck of the bird, slip your hand between the meat and the skin to loosen. Rub half the paste mix under the skin, and rub the remaining paste inside the cavity and over the rest of the turkey.
- Season all over with kosher salt.
- Place the two-thirds of the chopped onion and fennel stalks inside the cavity. Truss the bird.
- Place the turkey in a roasting pan. Roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
- Reduce the temperature to 325 degrees and continue cooking the turkey to an internal temperature of 160 degrees, approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
- Baste the turkey often during cooking with juices from the pan. If the turkey begins to overbrown, cover it loosely with aluminum foil.
- As the turkey roasts, simmer the giblets (neck, heart and gizzard), the other 1/3 of the fennel stalk, onion mix and diced celery in 1 quart of the chicken stock until tender, approximately 1 1/2 hours.
- Remove the turkey from the roasting pan and set aside to rest.
- Degrease the roasting pan, reserving 3 ounces (90 grams) of the fat to make a roux.
- Deglaze the pan with a small amount of chicken stock. Transfer the stock to a saucepot, and add the remaining stock and the broth from the giblets. Bring to a simmer and degrease.
- Make a blond roux with the reserved fat and the flour. Add the roux to the liquid, whisking well to prevent lumps. Simmer 15 minutes. Strain the gravy through a china cap. Adjust seasoning.