Hefin Roberts, head chef of Ye Olde Bulls Head Inn in Wales, has created this wonderful poultry and shellfish dish served with tarragon butter sauce.
Ingredients
For the pot-roast guinea fowl:
- 200 g7 oz smoked bacon rashers
- 2 whole guinea fowl, wings and legs jointed
- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 leek, trimmed and chopped
- 2 celery sticks, trimmed and chopped
- 1 garlic bulb, peeled and chopped
- 2 sprigs of thyme, leaves chopped
- 500 ml17½ fl oz chicken stock
- Knob of butter
- 50 ml1¾ fl oz double cream
For the potatoes:
- 2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm-thick slices
- Splash of olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped
- 25 g1 oz thyme leaves, chopped
- Knob of butter
For the tarragon butter sauce:
- 170 g6 oz butter
- 15 ml½ fl oz white wine vinegar
- 1 egg yolk
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 15 g½ oz tarragon, finely chopped
For the lobsters:
- 2 whole live lobsters, about 675g each
For the vegetables:
- 10 Chantenay carrots, finely chopped
- 125 g4½ oz shelled peas
To serve:
- 100 g3½ oz baby leaf spinach
- Knob of butter
For the guinea fowl stock (optional):
- 2 kg4½ lb guinea fowl bones
- 1 kg2¼ lb chicken wings
- 2 onions, peeled and sliced
- 4 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 celery head, trimmed and sliced
- 2 leeks, trimmed and sliced
- 1 tsp peppercorns
- 1 star anise
- 200 g7 oz button mushrooms, sliced
- 4 tomatoes, chopped
- Splash of olive oil
- 50 g1¾ oz thyme stalks
- 1 garlic head, split
- 200 ml7 fl oz white wine
For the smoked pancetta (optional):
- 50 g1¾ oz smoked pancetta slice
Method: How to make Pot-roast guinea fowl and lobster
For the pot-roast guinea fowl:
First trim the fat off the bacon and fry the fat in a pan. Reserve the bacon. Pan fry the guinea fowl wings and legs in the bacon fat, along with the vegetables, garlic and thyme, for about 10 minutes until golden brown. Cover with the stock and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 160C/Gas 2. Strain off the stock from the meat, vegetables and herbs, then return the liquid to the pan. Place the guinea fowl crowns in a roasting tin, cover with foil and put in the oven to cook for about 40 minutes until cooked through.
For the potatoes:
Sauté the potatoes in oil over a medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and thyme together with a little butter and seal for about 5 minutes until coloured on both sides. Transfer the potatoes to a roasting tin and cook in the oven for about 20 minutes until golden.
To make the tarragon butter sauce:
Put the butter in a pan and heat very gently until the butter separates, the oil rising and the butter solids staying on the bottom. Remove from the heat. In a separate pan, heat the vinegar and reduce it by half. Put the egg yolk in a metal bowl, add the vinegar and whisk until pale and frothy. Season with salt and pepper and then slowly pour in the oil from the top of the clarified butter (discarding the solids left in the pan). Finish with the tarragon. Keep warm.
To cook the lobsters:
First kill them by inserting a sharp knife into the cross on the back of the head, then blanch them in a large pan of boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain the lobsters and place in a roasting tin. Cover with cling film and set aside.
For the vegetables:
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the carrots and peas for about 4 minutes until al dente. Refresh in cold water and set aside.
Chop the reserved bacon and sauté until crispy.
To finish, remove the guinea fowl from the oven and seal them in butter in a hot pan to colour well. Let them rest for a minute or two. Transfer some of the stock into a pan, boil to reduce and then add the cream and reduce further. Season with salt and pepper. Take the tail pieces and claws off the lobsters, crack open and discard the shells.
To serve:
Sauté the spinach in the butter for about 2 minutes to wilt. Transfer to warmed plates and top with a piece of potato. Slice the guinea fowl in half and place on the potato. Lay half a lobster tail next to it together with a claw, then add the vegetables and bacon and spoon over the tarragon butter. The chef suggests serving this dish with smoked pancetta, and you might also choose to make your own guinea fowl stock in place of the chicken stock.
For the guinea fowl stock (optional):
Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Put the guinea fowl and chicken bones in a roasting pan and roast for about 30 minutes until dark golden brown. Fry the vegetables in the olive oil in a large stock pot for about 15 minutes until they have a golden brown shine. Add the thyme and garlic and sauté for a further 5 minutes. Add the bones to the pot and deglaze the pan with the white wine. Add to the stock. Cover the stock pot contents with cold water, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 hours.
Strain out the bones and vegetables. Pass the liquid through a sieve and place in the fridge overnight. Remove any fat on the surface, then pour the chilled stock back into a pan and reduce over about 30 minutes by two-thirds until the stock coats the back of a spoon with a shiny gloss.
For the smoked pancetta (optional):
Put the pancetta on a baking sheet and cover it with a silicone mat or greaseproof paper and place a heavy pan on top of that. Transfer the pancetta to the oven (still set at 180C/Gas 4) and heat through for 5–10 minutes until cripsy. Remove from the oven and cut into strips.
