Name: Christmas Dinner for One
Ingredients: 3 pork chipolatas; 1 small apple (cored, ½ grated, ½ cut into wedges); 3 pecans (chopped); 2 slices white bread (chopped into small pieces); Pinch of dried sage; 1 skinless chicken breast; 4 rashers streaky bacon; 5 Brussels sprouts (trimmed); 2 small potatoes (quartered); 1 medium parsnip (trimmed); 1 garlic clove (sliced); 3 bay leaves; 2 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil; 250 ml milk; 2 cloves; 1 shallot; 2 tsp butter; 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar; 250 ml red wine; 250 ml beef or chicken stock (can be made with 1/2 stock cube); 1-2 tbsp pickled red cabbage; 1 tsp cranberry sauce

Instructies

STEP 1 – Preparation:

Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
Squeeze the meat from one of the chipolatas into a bowl, discarding the skin.
Put the grated apple in a clean tea towel and squeeze out any excess liquid.
Add the grated apple to the sausagemeat with pecans, a quarter of the bread, and sage.
Season and combine to form a fat sausage shape.
Cut a long slit in the chicken breast, being careful not to cut it in half.
Stuff with the sausage and wrap with bacon.

STEP 2 – Roasting:

Put the stuffed chicken breast in a large roasting tin.
Wrap the remaining bacon rashers around the remaining chipolatas and add to the tin around the chicken.
Add apple wedges, sprouts, and potatoes to the roasting tin.
Cut the parsnip in half lengthways and put it, cut-side down, on a chopping board.
Make very thin, close cuts into the parsnip halves.
Transfer everything to the roasting tin with garlic and two bay leaves.
Drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast for 40-45 mins or until cooked through.

STEP 3 – Bread Sauce:

Pour milk into a small saucepan with a bay leaf, cloves, and shallot.
Heat gently until the shallot softens.
Strain the milk into a jug, discarding bay leaf and cloves.
Return milk to the pan with the remaining bread and cook until you have a thick, porridge-like sauce.
Add half the butter, season, and set aside.

STEP 4 – Red Wine Gravy:

Slice the reserved shallot and add to a deep frying pan with the rest of the butter.
Fry until golden, then pour in balsamic vinegar.
Continue to cook until the vinegar has reduced and is thick and sticky.
Add wine and cook until reduced by half.
Stir in the stock and bubble until the sauce is glossy and slightly thickened.

STEP 5 – Serving:

Gently reheat the bread sauce.
Slice half the chicken and place on a plate with pigs in blankets, roast apple, sprouts, potatoes, and parsnip.
Drizzle over the red wine gravy and serve with pickled red cabbage and cranberry and bread sauces on the side.

Christmas Dinner for One