Sausage stuffed chicken breasts

Sausage-stuffed chicken breasts

For instructions on how to make a, cut and stuff your chicken place look at the short video on our website in the gallery.

Serves 4

 3 good pork sausages, about 200g (7oz)

 1 shallot, finely chopped

 1tbsp finely chopped fresh sage (or 1tsp dried sage)

 ½tsp English mustard

 1 small apple, finely diced

 4 skinless chicken breasts

 75g (3oz) pancetta slices or streaky bacon

Sauce

25g / 1oz butter,

25g / 1oz plain flour

200ml / 7fl oz dry white wine

600ml / 1pint chicken stock

2-3 tbsp redcurrant jelly

2 tsp mushroom ketchup

1 tsp dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan) mark 6. Peel off and discard sausage skins. Put sausage meat into a bowl; mix through the shallot, sage, mustard, apple and some freshly ground black pepper (there should be enough salt in mixture already).

Slice each chicken breast horizontally in half through one side, keeping opposite side attached (open out the meat like a book), you may need to place some Clingfilm over the breasts and use a rolling pin to flatten them a little more. Press a quarter of the sausage mixture over one side of an opened-out breast, then fold other side back over to cover stuffing. Repeat with remaining breasts and stuffing.

Wrap 2-3 slices of pancetta around each breast, securing the stuffing as much as you can. Put wrapped breasts in a heatproof dish. Cook for 30-35min until piping hot and cooked through and the bacon is crispy.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a small pan then add the flour and cook for 1 minute.  Add white wine and reduce by half, then add stock, redcurrant jelly, mushroom ketchup and mustard.  Simmer for 5 minutes, then season and serve spooned over the stuffed chicken .

To get ahead: The stuffed but uncooked chicken can be prepared ready to cook up to 2 days ahead.

To freeze: The uncooked prepped chicken can be frozen up to 1 month ahead.