I really enjoyed the side dish of ventreche, leek & oyster mushroom I had at the Spread Eagle Restaurant recently, so I tried to recreate it, along with a Parma Ham wrapped chicken breast, stuffed with garlic herb butter, which I haven’t cooked before either. I’m not a massive fan of chicken breasts and I normally prefer the thighs (more taste and juicier), but the breast does give more on the portion size.

First off, I crushed a clove of garlic and mixed it in with some butter. To this, I added some chopped garlic chives I picked from the garden, but parsley would also work well. To prepare the chicken, you need to cut the oyster of meat from the middle and then make slices in the hole you’ve created, to make room for the stuffing. I also put in a few chopped mushrooms. Put the oyster of chicken on top of the stuffing and then wrap a couple of pieces of parma ham around the breast and stick in the middle of the oven at gas mark 6 for 15 mins.

Whilst the breast is cooking, the ragoût (I don’t think that’s the right word for it, but I’m not sure what it should be called) can be made. Put some cubed pancetta into a pan with a little olive oil and cook for a few minutes before adding a sliced leek and then about 150g of chopped mushrooms. I used chestnut and button mushrooms. Sauté in the pan until it’s all reduced down and then add a splash of white wine, which adds a little je ne sais quoi. Cook off the alcohol and then give a minute or so for the mushrooms to absorb the rest of the liquid.

I used a rosti mould to serve up the ragoût and used some of the garlic butter that had melted out of the chicken breast as a little sauce. I really liked the ragoût, especially the leek part of it and the chicken breast wasn’t bad either. The breast was a little dry, but that was because I cooked it for about 18 mins, rather than the 15 I should have done, but all in all, it was a plate of food that worked well.