Description
This elegant roast poussin recipe features tender baby chickens roasted to perfection, infused with garlic, thyme, and lemon, served alongside a luxurious wild mushroom sauce made from rehydrated dried morels or porcini, shallots, white wine, cream, and a touch of sherry. The dish is completed with a charred Baby Gem lettuce for added smoky flavor and texture, creating a sophisticated and flavorful meal perfect for special occasions.
Ingredients
Scale
Roast Poussins
- 4 poussin
- 8 garlic cloves, crushed with skins on
- 16 thyme sprigs
- 4 large pieces of lemon peel
- 50g butter
Wild Mushroom Sauce
- 200ml white wine
- 25g dried morels or dried porcini mushrooms
- 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
To Serve
- Baby Gem lettuce, halved and blowtorched
- Rapeseed oil
- Sea salt
Instructions
- Prepare the mushroom soaking: Bring the white wine to a boil and pour it over the dried mushrooms in a covered bowl. Cover with cling film and let soak and rehydrate for 1 hour.
- Make the mushroom sauce: After soaking, strain the wine through a fine sieve into a saucepan and set the mushrooms aside. Add the sliced shallots and grated garlic to the wine reduction. Heat on medium-high until the liquid reduces by two-thirds and shallots become soft and translucent.
- Simmer the sauce: Add the tied thyme sprigs, rehydrated mushrooms, and double cream to the pan. Bring to a boil and then gently simmer until the sauce reduces by one-third. Remove from heat, season with cayenne pepper and salt, stir in the dry sherry, and keep warm. The sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead.
- Preheat the oven: Heat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan) or gas mark 7.
- Prepare the poussins for roasting: Stuff each poussin cavity with 2 garlic cloves, 4 sprigs of thyme, and a piece of lemon peel. Optionally, tie the legs together for neat presentation. Smear butter all over the poussins and place them in a shallow roasting tin.
- Roast the poussins: Roast in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the legs come away easily from the bird, or a digital thermometer inserted into the breast reads 75°C.
- Rest and baste: Remove the poussins from the oven, baste with the buttery cooking juices, and let them rest for 15 minutes before serving.
- Prepare the Baby Gem lettuce: Halve the Baby Gem lettuces, drizzle cut sides with rapeseed oil, and blowtorch until nicely charred. Season with sea salt.
- Serve: Plate the rested poussin with a generous spoonful of wild mushroom sauce alongside the charred Baby Gem lettuce.
Notes
- Dried mushrooms: Morels are luxurious and flavorful but can be expensive and harder to find; dried porcini mushrooms are a good alternative but require careful draining to avoid grit.
- Blowtorching: This method adds an intense charred and slightly smoky flavor to Baby Gem lettuce without wilting it, enhancing the dish’s complexity.
- The mushroom sauce can be prepared up to 2 days in advance to save time on the day of serving.
- Tying the poussin legs is optional but helps with presentation and even cooking.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: British
Keywords: roast poussin, wild mushroom sauce, morel mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, baby gem lettuce, blowtorched lettuce, elegant poultry dish
