September 2006

Roast Breast Of Chicken Stuffed With Lemon And Sorrel

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This dish can be prepared well in advance and can be served either hot or cold. We started with some good fresh chicken supremes. We carefully trimmed them to remove any excess aft and skin. Then we removed the small fillet from the inside face of the supreme. These were put to one side for using later. We then had to make a pocket on the inside of the supreme for the stuffing.

Using a long thin and very sharp knife we pushed the blade into the thick end of the supreme next to the bone so it went into the middle of the supreme. We then twisted it from side to side. You must make sure you do not puncture the outer skin or make any holes. Then remove the knife and push your washed finger into the hole to open up a pocket. Next we need to make the stuffing.

We took the small chicken fillets that we kept earlier. We roughly chopped these and put them into a food processor. We chopped until you have a smooth paste. Into this we added some lemon juice and rind, some chopped sorrel, an egg, a little double cream and some salt and pepper. We ran the food processor just long enough to mix everything together. Do not run for too long as this will whip up the cream too much and it will split and go a bit weird during cooking.

This stuffing should be quite firm but still soft enough to pipe into the supreme using a piping bag. When you pipe the mix into the chicken, try not to put in too much as it will all squirt out during cooking. You should be able to close the hole with your fingers after adding the stuffing. Now just shape the supreme a little with your fingers and then put the chicken in the fridge over night.

To cook the chicken we first put it into a hot frying pan with a little oil to crisp up the outer skin and turn it a lovely golden color. Then the chicken was roasted in a medium to hot oven for about thirty five minutes or until cooked properly all the way through. You must make sure that it is cooked fully.

We served the dish here with some small roasted potatoes and some peas cooked with shredded lettuce and small baby onions. I really like this chicken sliced up cold and put in a sandwich with some mayo and crispy lettuce.

I hope you try this dish and enjoy it.

Paul Vincent, Head Chef.