Hugh's Pot Roast Poultry

By Helen
Main Ingredients:

• Guinea fowl
• Chorizo
• Butter beans
• Butternut squash

First things first: this recipe was actually for pheasant but I still live in East London and am largely reliant on Tesco.

While staring at the supermarket shelves the guinea fowl seemed about the right size - and I have to admit that cutting each one in half and plonking on a plate was a lot easier than carving a chicken for four (surely the worst bit of the usual roast?)

The birds were browned on each side in a frying pan and pot-roasted with onions, thyme, garlic, wine, chicken stock, a tin of butter beans and half a chorizo. Today was Hugh-inspired from start to finish as I accompanied the birds with mashy squash (with sage and garlic) and buttery greens. Plus the carrier bag of greengages I was given by my parents at the weekend was turned into a clafoutis - basically a sweet toad-in-the-hole where the halved fruits were baked in a batter of flour, eggs, milk and sugar til it was set.

I hate to say it but to me the meat didn't taste that different to chicken, although I very much approve of the way it was cooked. The chorizo was rich and sweet and the beans absorbed lovely cooking juices and mashed into the gravy nicely. Plus the pudding was a surprise hit too - even plum-phobic Chris enjoyed the custardy, sweet, tart-without-pastry effect.

At £3.16 a head it wasn't the cheapest meal but definitely worth trying - all in all a different take on a roast chicken which felt like a real treat.

Taken from... Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - River Cottage Every Day
Best for... Treating some good friends who have moved out of the city
Chris says... Very nice and rich, but I wouldn't have noticed if it was chicken instead...