Four turkey dinners with wine to match

You can’t escape it – turkey is a staple of Christmas menus, and it isn’t going anywhere. And while critics – and Christmas curmudgeons; there are always a few – might label it as rather bland, it’s turkey’s mild-mannered, all-things-to-all-men flavour that makes it such a favourite, year in, New Year out.

It’s also the perfect foil for all those things we love to have with our turkey: succulent ham, stuffing of every variety (chestnut, sausage, sage and onion), soothing mash, crisp roast potatoes and, of course, gravy.

But all this is not to say you can’t throw a spanner into the Christmas works every now and then. So this year, I decided to investigate some alternative ways of treating this seasonal bird.

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Maple Glazed Turkey and carrot puree Photograph: Eric Luke Staff Photographer

And I’m happy to say that I think these four recipes cover all the bases. Like only white meat? Check. Love a herb stuffing? Check. Want to ramp things up to super fancy? Check.

The turkey escalopes are Christmas dinner all in one. The confit has the advantage of being very easy on the pocket – if you skip the truffles and just sprinkle some truffle oil on it instead.

The salad is so simple and pretty – a real winner. Feel free to substitute rice, quinoa, or cooked Puy lentils for the giant couscous. The crown is more traditional. Here it is: turkey four ways. All simple, all tasty.

John Wilson writes:
Turkey is a fairly accomodating bird, happy to be partnered by either red or white wine. It is often the array of other dishes, cranberry sauce in particuldar, that proves more difficult. As a rule, if you prefer white wine, I would go for a good Chardonnay or Viognier; deither of these will have the body and richness for both the turkey and its accompaniments. I would also be tempted to try an Alsace Riesling or even a Gewürztraminer. These usually have the necessary combination of fruit and richness and backbone to work nicely with turkey. If you drink red wine, I would suggest Pinot Noir, a rich, tannin-free red from the southern Rhône, the Languedoc or Australia. Americans would probably open up a bottle of Zinfandel and the Spanish their finest Rioja.

To get things started on the right note, there is nothing to beat a glass of fizz. The Marks & Spencer Prestige Cava (€15.29) is a delicious, fruity glass of wine. Alternatively the Monsigny (€19.99) or Jannison (€26.99) from Aldi are both very good, inexpensive Champagnes. For a little more, a bottle of the award-winning Laurent Perrier (€50, widely available) will add an extra touch of style to the proceedings.

Assuming you are serving a fishy starter, a fruity dry white is called for. This year, why not experiment a little with one of the delicious Spanish white wines from Rías Baixas, Ribeiro or Valdeorras? Alternatively go Italian with a Verdicchio, Vermentino, Soave or Fiano.