Recipes

Chosen from Better Gravy by Shaun Hill, chef at The Walnut Tree Inn in Abergavenny, Shaun writes “Steaming will produce a delicate chicken dish, but not necessarily a dull one. The dividing line between subtle and bland, however, is alarmingly narrow, as is the balance between the power of the herbs and chicken liver stuffing and the surrounding chicken. The light texture of a steamed dish will make a change from unending fried and grilled offerings on a summer’s day with a bottle of aromatic white wine. Possibly two."

Serves 4

    4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
    2 chicken livers
    2 tbsp double cream
    A little lemon zest
    Salt and pepper
    Grated nutmeg
    75g fresh flat leaf parsley
    30g unsalted butter
    2 egg yolks
    100ml white wine
    1 tsp lemon juice

Method

There will be a small fillet of meat that tends to detach itself from the underside of each breast – chop up these and the livers. Blend the result with the cream, zest and seasonings, in a liquidizer. Blending small amounts is awkward but unavoidable unless you want to push the mixture through a sieve, which is worse. Be sure to scrape all the mixture out afterwards.

Strip the parsley leaves away from the stalk, then wash and dry them with kitchen paper. Finely chop the leaves and stir the result into the chicken mixture. Cut a small pocket in the underside of each chicken breast, from the thicker end downwards, to accommodate the stuffing, then spoon this into the space made. Roll the breast around the cut so that it forms a banana-like shape – think of chicken Kiev – then wrap a piece of oiled or buttered kitchen foil around each breast. This will protect it during cooking and keep the shape intact. Steam the chicken for 20-25 minutes, depending on what size chicken breasts you bought, or until cooked through.

Meanwhile, melt the butter. Whisk the egg yolks and white wine together in a bowl over hot water; they will double in volume as they cook. Then whisk in the melted butter. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. When the chicken is unwrapped from the foil, whisk any juices that emerge into the sauce then coat the chicken breasts with it.