Herbed Roast Turkey

["Recipe courtesy of\u00a0North American Olive Oil Association<\/a>","Recipe courtesy of\u00a0 North American Olive Oil Association<\/a>","Recipe courtesy of\u00a0 North American Olive Oil Association<\/a>","Recipe courtesy of\u00a0 North American Olive Oil Association<\/a>"]

Ingredients

16 to 18 lb. turkey, thawed, if frozen
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
2 ribs celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 to 5 stems each of fresh sage, rosemary and thyme, if desired
3 cloves garlic
1/3 cup chopped fresh sage leaves
¼ cup fresh rosemary leaves
3 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1/3 cup plus ½ cup California Olive Ranch extra virgin olive oil
Additional stems rosemary, thyme and sage

Instructions

Heat oven to 325ºF. Remove giblets and neck from turkey; discard or save for broth, if desired. Rinse cavity of turkey and pat dry. Sprinkle inside of turkey with salt and pepper. Place onion, celery, carrot and if desired 1 to 2 stems each of sage, rosemary and thyme inside turkey. Place turkey on rack in roasting pan; set aside.
In food processor or blender, chop garlic until fine. Add herbs; pulse until coarsely chopped. Add salt and pepper. With machine running, add 1/3 cup California Olive Ranch extra virgin olive oil; process until well blended.
Carefully separate (but do not remove) the skin from meat on breast of turkey. Rub 2 Tbsp. California Olive Ranch extra virgin olive oil mixture between meat and skin. Replace skin. If desired, add 1 cup water or broth to pan under rack. Roast turkey 1 hour.
Meanwhile, blend remaining ½ cup California Olive Ranch extra virgin olive oil into remaining herb mixture. If desired, bundle remaining fresh herb stems together to form “basting brush”. After 1 hour of roasting, baste turkey with part of herb mixture.
Continue roasting 2 ½ to 3 ¼ hours (see note below) or until internal temperature of thickest part of thigh is 170ºF. and juices run clear, basting every 1 hour. If necessary, cover breast of turkey with foil to prevent over-browning during roasting. Cover loosely; let stand 10 to 15 minutes before carving.

Tip: Total roasting time will be about 12 to 20 minutes per pound, depending on size of turkey. This olive oil-herb mixture can also be used when roasting only a turkey breast, and is also excellent on roasted or grilled chicken or pork.