Pot roast guinea fowl with brandy, sausages and apple

This was quite a nice way of cooking guinea fowl and was different from the usual way we roast it. We served this with roast potatoes, sprouts with shallots and pancetta, and poured over some of the onions and liquid from the pan the bird had been cooking in.

Ingredients (seves 2 with leftovers):

1 guinea fowl

1 white onion

2 sausages (we used chipolatas)

1/2 an apple

300ml chicken stock

a large glug of brandy

salt and pepper

olive oil

bay leaf

• Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees
• Remove the skin from the sausages and put the sausage meat in a bowl. Grate the apple into the sausage meat and season the mixture with a little salt and pepper
• Carefully insert your finger between the skin and the breast of the guinea fowl to make a pocket. Using a teaspoon transfer the sausage and apple mixture under the skin and push the mixture down to the bottom of the breast so that it is evenly distributed
• In a large, deep frying pan heat a little oil. Slice the onion and add the onion to the pan when it's hot. After a few minutes add the guinea fowl and brown slightly on each side, this should take about 5 minutes. Once this is done, add the brandy to the pan and let it bubble away for a few minutes
• Transfer the guinea fowl, onions and brandy juices to a deep oven proof dish. Add the bay leaf and pour over the stock
• Place in the pre heated oven for around 1 and a quarter hours (depending on size of bird - test the thickest part of the thigh to see if it's cooked). Take it out every 20 minutes or so to baste the bird using the brandy/stock juices
• You could make a proper gravy by reducing the juices further whilst the guinea fowl is resting but we just spooned some of the juices directly onto the carved meat

Crab and Champagne risotto

It looks quite unappetising from the photo but it tasted a lot better than it looked! I know that Italians tend not to mix seafood with cheese in pasta and risotto dishes but the parmesan really suited this dish.

Ingredients (serves 2):

150g cooked white crab meat

1 cup full of risotto rice

1 glass of champagne

approx 200ml veg or fish stock

1 leek

1 clove of garlic

4 shallots

a handful of mushrooms

approx 50ml single cream

a handful of grated parmesan

salt and pepper

small knob ofbutter

• Peel and finely dice the shallots, garlic and leek. Heat the butter in a non stick pan and add the diced veg
• Finely chop the mushrooms and add those once the shallots/leek/garlic have softened
• Once the mushrooms have been cooking for about 5 minutes, add the rice and stir it through
• Alternate adding a splash of champagne and then stock into the pan. Keep adding liquid every 5 minutes or so as the rice soaks it up
• After 20 minutes or so the rice should be tender. Add the cooked crab meat and stir through the rice. Add the parmesan and a swirl of cream towards the end
• Season to taste and serve with a glass of champagne of course!

Slow roasted shoulder of lamb with garlic, rosemary and anchovies

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

1/2 shoulder of lamb

4-5 small/medium sized potatoes

1 carrot

3 celery sticks

5 shallots

a handful of mushrooms

2 rosemary sprigs

1 bay leaf

2 cloves of garlic

2 anchovies

200ml of white wine and 200ml of stock

olive oil

salt and pepper

mixed greens

• Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees
• Peel the potatoes, carrot, celery, shallots and mushrooms and cut into chunks
• Make slits with a sharp knife in the lamb and insert slices of garlic, rosemary and a piece of anchovy into each. Season the lamb with salt and pepper.
• Add some olive oil to a large oven and hob proof dish and place on the hob on quite a high heat.
• Add the lamb and chopped veg to the dish and allow them to brown for around 5 minutes. Turn the veg and lamb over half way through.
• Transfer the dish to the hot oven and allow to roast for 30 minutes.
• Take the dish out of the oven and turn the heat down to 140 degrees. Add the wine, stock and bay leaf and put back in the oven for another 2 hours.
• Check on it occasionally and turn the veg and lamb over every half an hour or so. Add a little more stock and/or wine if it needs it and season to taste when there is about 10 minutes cooking time left.
• Towards the end of the lamb cooking time, cook some mixed greens in salted water and drain.
• When ready, turn the oven off, remove the dish from the oven and transfer the lamb shoulder to a chopping board. Put the dish with the veg and juices in it back into the oven to keep warm.
• Slice the meat off the bone - you should be able to pull chunks away using just a fork.
• To serve, place a pile of the greens in a deep bowl and ladle the lamb and vegetables on top. Finish by ladling some extra juices from the pan on top of the lamb.