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Ballotine and stuffed breast of guinea fowl with a pistou of vegetables and mixed grains
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This underrated meat is treated in two ways in this stuffed guinea fowl recipe by Frances Atkins. The breast is stuffed with mozzarella and wild herbs, while the leg is rolled into a ballotine around a pancetta and herb stuffing.
First published in 2015
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Guinea fowl
- 2 guinea fowl
- 110g of pancetta
- 4 anchovy fillets
- 2 handfuls of fresh wild herbs
- 1 tbsp of honey, Yorkshire heather
- 1 buffalo mozzarella
- salt
- pepper
- olive oil
Assorted grains
- 70g of wild rice
- 70g of barley
- 70g of quinoa
- 70g of pumpkin seeds
Guinea fowl sauce
- 1 celery stick, chopped
- 1 leek, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 2 star anise
- 2 shallots
- 1 knob of butter
- 280ml of white wine
- whipping cream
- salt
- pepper
Pistou of vegetables
- 4 purple sprouting broccoli spears
- 4 baby carrots
- 4 asparagus spears
- 500ml of chicken stock
- 2 tsp dry sherry
SAVE RECIPE
Method
2
Thinly slice the onion and warm gently with 30g of the sugar until softened
- 1 onion
- 30g of caster sugar
3
Cut the cooled lemons lengthways and remove the pith and pulp with a spoon. Pass this through a sieve
4
Halve the lemon shells again and thinly slice. Add the slices to the onion and cook gently for 20 minutes with the remaining sugar and half the pulp
- 20g of caster sugar
5
Stir until the relish reaches the desired consistency. Discard the remaining pulp and store the relish in a jar
6
Fill 4 small pans with water and bring to the boil. Pour 70g of each mixed grain into each saucepan, then cook until the grains are tender. Drain and set aside until required
- 70g of wild rice
- 70g of barley
- 70g of quinoa
- 70g of pumpkin seeds
7
To butcher the guinea fowl, take a sharp knife and place the whole bird, breast-side down, on a secure chopping board
8
Pull 1 leg gently back towards the other leg so that you can see the joint between the leg and back. Feel for the join and carefully cut through it, but not the leg bone, then repeat for the other leg
9
To take the breasts off the crown, place the bird breast-side up on a chopping board and feel for the central bone. Carefully cut down one side, as close to the bone as possible
10
Open up the cut to check that you are not leaving any breast meat on the bone. Follow the bone down, running your knife along the central bone until you have released all the breast meat
11
Repeat this process for the second breast, then place in a clean container in the fridge until required. Retain the carcass for the sauce
12
To tunnel bone the legs, gently scrape the meat away from the central bone, taking care not to split the skin. Remove the meat from the bone to create a flat piece of meat
13
Gently remove most of the leg meat from the skin in small pieces. Place the skin to one side, being careful to leave some flesh attached
14
Mince or finely dice the detached leg meat with the pancetta. Cut the meat against the grain to ensure that it breaks down when it cooks
- 110g of pancetta
15
Chop the anchovies and add to the mince along with half of the herbs. Season and mix well
- 4 anchovy fillets
- 1 handful of fresh wild herbs
- salt
- pepper
16
Place the mince in the 2 leg skins and roll into a sausage shape (ballotine). Roll the sausages in a thick layer of cling film, knotting each end to secure
17
Set aside in the fridge for 10 minutes to set. Once set, poach the sausages in boiling water for 15 minutes
18
Remove from the water and allow to cool before removing the cling film. Preheat the oven to 200˚C/gas mark 6
19
In the meantime, chop the mozzarella into small pieces and mix with the remaining herbs
- 1 buffalo mozzarella
- 1 buffalo mozzarella
- 1 handful of fresh wild herbs
20
Place a pan over a high heat and add a little olive oil. Once the oil is hot, brown the guinea fowl breasts on one side, then turn over to seal the breasts on the other side
- olive oil
21
Remove from the pan, cut a pocket in the side of each breast, making sure to avoid the skin, and stuff with a small amount of the mozzarella mixture
22
Place the unwrapped stuffed legs in a pan and coat with the honey. Add a little water to the honey to prevent this from burning
- 1 tbsp of honey, Yorkshire heather
23
Place the stuffed breasts in the pan, skin-side down, along with the leg, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and slice both the leg and breast at an angle into 4 pieces
24
To prepare the sauce, place the chopped vegetables and star anise in a large pan with the carcass and fill with salted water. Simmer until reduced by half
- 1 celery stick, chopped
- 1 leek, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 2 star anise
- salt
25
Drain the liquid and discard the vegetables, then reduce down to a sticky consistency
27
Steam the broccoli, carrots and asparagus spears. Meanwhile, add the chicken stock to a small saucepan and reduce to 125ml. Add the sherry and reduce by half until it has the consistency of a rich glaze
- 4 purple sprouting broccoli spears
- 4 baby carrots
- 4 asparagus spears
- 500ml of chicken stock
- 2 tsp dry sherry
28
Remove from the heat, place the steamed vegetables into the glaze and gently coat
29
Mix together the cooked rice, barley and quinoa and warm through on the stove
30
On each plate, serve a piece of breast and leg on a bed of vegetable pistou. Finish with the warm mixed grains, pumpkin seeds and lemon relish. Serve immediately
First published in 2015
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