Spit-roasted Turkey Slavonic Style (Veneto)

Meat

Ingredients

Turkey, dressed, about 6 pounds - 1

Salt

Raw chestnuts, peeled and skinned - 6 large

Dried prunes, pitted - 8

Celery, washed and chopped - 2 hearts

Bacon, thinly sliced - 1/4 pound

Rub the turkey inside and out with salt. Fill it with the chestnuts, prunes and celery. Pull back the skin over the neck and sew it up. Truss the turkey and tie the bacon slices round it, securing them firmly.

Thread the turkey onto a spit and roast in a gentle heat, basting from time to time with it's own fat, collected in a pan under the spit. (Allow 2 1/2 hours to cook). Gently pull the leg to see if turkey is cooked. If the meat looks white, then the turkey is almost ready.

Serve the turkey carved into portions, garnished with its stuffing and accompanied by fried chipped potatoes.

Serves 8