Name: Roast poussins with wild mushroom sauce
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: British
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)

4 poussin
8 garlic cloves
crushed with their skins on
16 thyme sprigs
4 large pieces of lemons
peel
50g butter

For the wild mushroom sauce

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)

Method

step 1
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.
step 2
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.