Christmas supper 2008

This year, our family celebrated with a light Christmas supper: just the four of us. It was wonderful. First, the presents: then at about 6pm, the cold supper. Mum had roasted a ham, studded with cloves and coated with a mustardy glaze. I took care of the turkey: a boned breast (or buffe), with a leek and fig stuffing and wrapped in pancetta (from the ABC delicious. Christmas cookbook). We also had a couple of salads: one tomato, one green with olives and sliced red onion. Dessert was fresh fruit and some crumbled Christmas cake.

The turkey, with stuffing, before rolling.

Rolled, wrapped in foil, and in baking paper, ready to go into the fridge for two hours of chillin'.

The finished turkey: cooked, sliced and plated.

Rolled turkey breast with pancetta, fig and leek

• 1 boned turkey breast, about 1.5kg (mine was 2kg). Get the butcher to bone it for you
• 2 leeks, white part only
• Fresh thyme leaves
• 12 dried figs (mine were from supermarket, semi-dried)
• Half cup Marsala
• Salt and pepper
• Maple syrup (real, not maple-flavoured!)
• Bit of unsalted butter and olive oil
• 20 thin slices mild pancetta

Soak figs in Marsala for at least half an hour.

Put the two leek pieces in a frying pan with the butter and oil, Cook, turning occasionally, over a medium-low heat or until leeks are lightly browned and soft. Sprinkly with thyme leaves.

Trim the turkey of any skin. Cut through it almost all the way, opening it out like a book. Put it in a plastic bag and whack it with a rolling pin to flatten out any thick parts.

Get a big piece of baking paper and lay the pancetta slices on it, overlapping them slightly, enough to cover the turkey. Lay the slab of turkey on the pancetta. Along the long axis in the middle, arrange the leeks and figs. Season. Roll it up from the long side as tightly as you can (for me, this wasn't very tightly at all.) Wrap the log in foil, and the paper if you like (I also used rubber bands) and pop it in the fridge for two hours.

Preheat oven to 180C. Bake turkey in the foil (take off paper if you used it) for about an hour. Take foil off, paint the pancetta with maple syrup, and roast for another 25-30 mins, until turkey is cooked and juice runs clear.

We let ours chill in the fridge overnight, and ate it cold, drizzled with a bit more maple syrup. If eating it hot, I'd let it rest for about 10-15 minutes before slicing it up.