Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

Turkey
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice
• 1 onion, cut into ½ inch dice
• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ½ inch dice
• 2 shallots, coarsely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 Tablespoon mint, finely chopped
• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cardamom pods or ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 star anise
• 2 whole cloves or 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 black peppercorns
• 4 white peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 8 - pound turkey
  
  
  
Spiced Apple Rice
• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 ½ Tablespoons yogurt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

For Turkey:
Preheat oven to 300ºF. Blanch sweet potato in boiling water 2 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain again. In medium bowl, combine sweet potato, onion, apples, shallots, garlic, thyme, and mint. Combine water and olive oil and add to vegetable mixture, tossing to coat. Using mortar and pestle, lightly crush cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, cloves, black peppercorns, and white peppercorns with salt. Add half of spice mixture to vegetables, and reserve the rest.

Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Remove all excess fat. Lightly stuff cavity with about half the vegetable mixture and tie legs together with kitchen string. Place turkey on a rack in roasting pan and rub all over with reserved spice mixture. Scatter remaining vegetable mixture around turkey.

Roast about 5 hours, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thigh reaches 160ºF. After first hour, or when vegetables in pan are tender, remove from pan and set aside. After first 2 hours, increase oven temperature to 350ºF. Check pan occasionally as turkey roasts, adding a bit of water if it becomes completely dry.

When turkey is cooked, transfer to cutting board. Remove vegetables from cavity and add to reserved vegetables. Cover turkey loosely with foil and let rest while preparing rice.

Add a few Tablespoons hot water to roasting pan, stirring to deglaze pan. Pour liquid into a measuring cup and skim off as much fat as possible. Add enough water to make 1 cup.

For Spiced Apple Rice:
Combine rice, water, deglazing liquid, and salt in medium saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook about 18 minutes, until rice is tender and all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, fold in yogurt and reserved vegetables, and season with salt if necessary and pepper.

To Serve:
Carve turkey and serve with rice.