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Turkey legs with cabbage and plums recipe

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If you're hosting a smaller crowd for Christmas dinner this year, these tasty turkey legs are the perfect festive main for six. Roasted with cinnamon-spiced red cabbage and tart, juicy plums, this delicious dish is a real game changer, and will definitely impress your guests. Serve with gravy and all the trimmings for a Christmas dinner to remember. See method

Serves 6
10 mins to prepare and 2 hrs 15 mins to cook, plus resting
569 calories / serving

Ingredients

900g red cabbage, core removed, cut into 2cm strips
1 large red onion, cut into wedges
400g pack plums, halved and stoned
30g pack fresh sage, 8 leaves finely chopped, rest left whole
2 cinnamon sticks, halved
75g light brown soft sugar
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
100g unsalted butter, softened
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 x 800g turkey legs or drumsticks

If you don't have red onions, try using white, brown or spring onions

Each serving contains

Energy
2385kj
569kcal 28%
Fat
26g 38%
Saturates
12g 59%
Sugars
25g 27%
Salt
0.7g 12%

of the reference intake
Carbohydrate 26.7g Protein 58.4g Fibre 7.2g

Method

Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C. Put the cabbage, onion and plums in a roasting tin with half the whole sage leaves and the cinnamon. Mix the sugar and vinegar and drizzle over. Season and toss to coat. Cover with foil and bake for 45 mins.
Meanwhile, mix the butter with the chopped sage, garlic and seasoning. Ease the skin from the turkey legs and slash the meat a few times with a knife. Smear half the sage butter over the meat, then pull the skin back in place and reshape. Smear the remaining butter over the skin. Cover and chill.
Remove the foil from the veg and stir. Increase the heat to gas 5, 190°C, fan 170°C. Arrange the turkey legs on top, re-cover and cook for 1 hr. Uncover and cook for a further 30-35 mins, basting the turkey and turning the fruit and veg, until the turkey is cooked through and the juices run clear.
Transfer the fruit and veg to a warm serving dish, (reserving the cooking juices to make gravy, if you like) and discarding the whole sage leaves and cinnamon. Put the turkey legs on top; cover and rest for 10 mins.
Garnish with the remaining sage and serve with the gravy.

See more Christmas dinner recipes

For top tips on protecting you and your family when preparing raw meat and poultry, visit Food Safety in the Home.