Method
- The recipe was for a guinea fowl but as these are often in short supply except maybe at Christmas you can use a good free range chicken.
- Dry the bird kitchen roll and season well with salt and pepper.
- Melt the butter and oil in the casserole, then, keeping the heat fairly high, brown the bird carefully on all sides. This will take 10-15 minutes in all.
- Remove the bird from the casserole, add the cloves of garlic and rosemary sprigs, toss these around, then replace the bird and sprinkle the chopped rosemary all over.
- Pour the wine all around it and let it gently come up to simmering point.
- Place the flour in a bowl and use a K Beater and add 150 ml of cold water and mix to make a soft but not sticky dough – then divide the dough into 4 and roll each piece into a cylinder about 9 inches (23 cm) long on a lightly floured surface. Now position these all around the rim of the casserole – it doesn't matter what they look like.
- Place the casserole lid carefully on top, pressing down gently and making sure there are no gaps. Now place the casserole in the oven and cook for 1 hour exactly, then remove the lid and let the bird continue to cook for another 10 minutes, to re-crisp the skin.
- Next remove the bird from the casserole and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before carving.
- Serve the carved bird with the garlic cloves alongside and the cooking juices poured around it. The idea is to squash the garlic cloves with a knife to release all the creamy pulp and, as you eat, dip the pieces of bird into it.
- Creamy mashed potatoes would be a wonderful accompaniment.
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