Enjoy cooking up these dishes to serve to family and friends for breakfast, lunch or dinner in the days between Christmas and New Year
NEW YEAR’S EVE CHICKEN WELLINGTON
SERVES 6
Beef Wellington is more famous, but we aren’t sure why – chicken Wellington is far easier to make and far less likely to overcook, while still looking fabulous. Making a good duxelles means chopping the mushrooms and shallots very finely – it’s easiest to do this with the chopper attachment in a food processor. Chilling the Wellington mid-way through making is important because it helps to firm up the chicken once wrapped in the ham; without chilling, it can lose its shape while cooking, resulting in a rather flat Wellington.
● 900g skinless and boneless free-range chicken breast fillets
● 500g puff pastry or two sheets of ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry
● Flavourless oil, for frying
● 120g prosciutto, Serrano or Parma ham, in long slices (long enough to wrap around and enclose the chicken)
● 1 egg, beaten
● Salt
● Freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE DUXELLES
● 75g salted butter
● 100g shallots, very finely minced
● 240g chestnut mushrooms, very finely minced
● 2 cloves of garlic, crushed to a paste
● 1 tbsp thyme leaves
● 2 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1. For the duxelles, melt the butter in a frying pan set over a medium heat and then add the shallots. Cook gently for 5 minutes, then turn down the heat and add the mushrooms. Cook until the liquid has evaporated, about 15–20 minutes – when you move the mushrooms apart, no liquid should puddle in the pan. Add the garlic, herbs and some black pepper, and cook for another couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. 2. Pat the chicken dry with kitchen paper. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper. 3. Pour a splash of oil into a large frying pan. Place the chicken fillets smooth side down in the pan and cook until lightly browned. Remove from the heat. 4. Roll out a large piece of clingfilm across a clean work surface. Arrange the ham slices crossways, ready to wrap the chicken with them. Spread the duxelles mixture across the ham, covering an area about 30x20cm and leaving the ends of the ham uncovered. Place the chicken on top of the ham, seared sides facing outwards, in a long sausage shape, about 30cm long, running at right angles to the ham – you can slice any really fat fillets lengthways to help make the sausage as even and neat as possible. Season the meat generously all over. Bring the ends of the ham up over the chicken, overlapping them to secure, encasing the chicken and duxelles. Chill for half an hour. 5. If using a block of
