Ballotine of Chicken is something I have been meaning to try for ages.  When I say ages I mean about ten years and after finally getting around to it last Sunday I really can’t work out what took me so long. From what I gather Ballotine is usually made using chicken thigh stuffed with forcemeat or pork of some kind or other but to make life simple I used chicken breasts and stuffed with nice flavoursome sausages, with a little fennel and rosemary thrown in for good measure.  The chicken is flattened and wrapped around the filling, shaped in to nice neat parcels and cooked by poaching and then unwrapping and finishing in a frying pan for colour so the result is soft tender meat with a beautifully bronzed exterior.  I was really pleased with how they turned out and my husband and son declared them a winner.  I think Ballotine is ideal if you have people coming over for dinner – they can be wrapped up and kept in the fridge well in advance and the ingredients couldn’t get any simpler.   Next time I think I will buy some pork and whizz it up in the processor together with some herbs (sage would be nice) and try that too.  I served with sautéed Savoy cabbage with bacon, spring onion mash and a very simple gravy made with some sherry and chicken stock. [Read more…]