ROAST POUSSINS WITH WILD MUSHROOM SAUCE

Roast poussins with wild mushroom sauce image

Impress any dinner party guests with Tom Kerridge's indulgent main dish - everyone is served their own little roast chicken

Provided by Tom Kerridge

Time 1h20m

Number Of Ingredients 14

Ingredients

4 poussin
8 garlic cloves , crushed with their skins on
16 thyme sprigs
4 large pieces of lemons peel
50g butter
200ml white wine
25g dried morels or dried porcini mushrooms (see Tip)
2 banana shallots , finely sliced
2 garlic cloves , finely grated
8 thyme sprigs , tied together with string
300ml double cream
50ml dry sherry
pinch of cayenne pepper
Baby Gem lettuce , blowtorched, to serve (see Tip)

Steps:

First, make the sauce. Bring the white wine to the boil and pour it on top of the dried mushrooms. Cover with cling film and leave to soak and rehydrate for 1 hr. After this time, pass the wine through a fine sieve into a saucepan and put the mushrooms to one side. Add the shallots and garlic to the wine. Put the pan on a medium-high heat until the wine has reduced by two-thirds, and the shallots are soft and translucent. Add the tied-up sprigs of thyme, the mushrooms and double cream. Bring the cream to the boil and gently simmer until it has reduced by a third. Remove from the heat, season, pour in the Sherry and turn off the heat until serving. Can be made 2 days ahead.
Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Stuff the cavity of each poussin with 2 garlic cloves, 4 sprigs of thyme and a piece of lemon peel. For neat presentation, you can now tie the poussin legs together, but this isn't essential. Smear the butter over the poussins, put in a shallow roasting tin and cook for 30-35 mins until the legs easily come away from the bird, or until a digital cooking thermometer reads 75C when inserted in the breast. Take out of the oven, baste with the buttery cooking juices and leave to rest for 15 mins.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 839 calories, Fat 64 grams fat, SaturatedFat 35 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 6 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 4 grams sugar, Fiber 1 grams fiber, Protein 49 grams protein, Sodium 0.9 milligram of sodium