Wheat-fed guinea fowl, parfait cigar and pickled mushroom

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Lisa Allen’s intricate starter uses rich guinea fowl breast paired with earthy mushrooms and a silky smooth parfait in a crispy feuille de brick shell. Guinea fowl were once a game bird but are now farmed in the UK and are widely available in supermarkets.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Guinea fowl

Parfait

Bramley apple jelly

Celeriac purée

Pickled mushroom

Pickled apple

Duxelle

Apple dressing

  • 500ml of apple juice
  • 100ml of olive oil
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Cigar

  • 2 sheets of feuille de brick pastry, cut into four 6cmx9cm pieces
  • 10g of butter, melted

To plate

Equipment

  • Pacojet
  • Chamber sealer
  • Water bath
  • Vacuum bags
  • Piping bags
  • Blender
  • 1.5cm metal pipes 4

Method

1
Preheat a water bath to 65°C
2
Begin by making the parfait. Trim the guinea fowl and chicken livers and wash thoroughly under cold running water. Drain well
3
Sweat the shallots, tarragon and garlic quickly in a small pan then add the alcohol and reduce down to a jam-like consistency. Allow to cool
4
Place the livers in a vacuum bag, add the jam and season with the salts, sugar and pepper. Seal in a chamber sealer and cook for 10 minutes
5
After this time, plunge the bag into iced water to chill. Once cold, transfer to a Pacojet container, add the butter and place in the freezer
6
Once the parfait is frozen, blitz twice in the Pacojet then transfer to a piping bag
7
Next make the Bramley apple jelly. Bring the apple juices and stock syrup to the boil, add the iota and whisk to dissolve. Pass through a fine sieve, whisk in the green food colouring and set in a tray to a depth of 3cm. Leave to set in the fridge for at least 1 hour
8
For the celeriac purée, peel and dice the celeriac into small pieces. Heat a saucepan over a medium heat and add the butter
9
Sweat the celeriac in the butter for 2 minutes without colour, then add the cream and salt. Cover with a lid and cook until the celeriac is completely cooked though – this will take about 20 minutes
10
Blitz the celeriac in a blender until smooth then pass through a fine sieve. Keep warm in a small pan with a lid
11
Bring the pickling ingredients for the pickled mushrooms to the boil, leave to cool then pass through a sieve before pouring over the mushrooms. Transfer everything a to a vacuum bag, seal in a chamber sealer and leave to marinate for 30 minutes
12
For the pickled apple, peel and dice the apple. Bring the apple juice, sugar and white wine vinegar to the boil, leave to cool then place the apple dice in a vacuum bag with the pickle. Seal in a chamber sealer and keep in the vacuum bag until ready to serve
13
Next make the mushroom duxelle. Sweat the onion and garlic in a saucepan without colour until softened. Add the mushrooms, cook for a further 3 minutes then add the cream and season with salt and pepper. Cook for a further 3 minutes then check the seasoning and add the truffle oil and chopped truffle. Drain on kitchen paper and leave to cool
14
To make the apple dressing, reduce the apple juice by half, remove from the stove and add the olive oil and Worcestershire sauce. Season to taste with salt and reserve
  • 450ml of apple juice
  • 100ml of olive oil
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
15
Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5
16
For the cigars, brush the feuille de brick pastry with melted butter then wrap around the metal pipes. Cover with tin foil and bake in the oven for about 5 minutes until golden – leave to cool slightly before carefully sliding the cigars from the pipes
  • 10g of butter, melted
  • 2 sheets of feuille de brick pastry, cut into four 6cmx9cm pieces
17
Preheat a water bath to 68°C
18
Place the guinea fowl breast between 2 pieces of cling film and use a rolling pin to flatten them out. Spread the duxelle along the centre of each breast
19
Sprinkle the protein glue on one side of each breast then roll them into sausage shapes. Wrap tightly in cling film, seal in individual vacuum bags and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the bags and carve each breast in half
20
To serve, place a piece of guinea fowl in the centre of each plate and arrange the mushrooms and pickled apple around. Pipe the parfait into the cigars and place to one side. Pipe a dot of the celeriac purée on the plate and spoon over the apple dressing. Garnish with mustard frills and celery cress
First published in 2015

Lisa Goodwin-Allen's cooking is playful and twists the hallmarks of Lancastrian cuisine to invoke new tradition.

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