As it’s our first Christmas in Bramble Cottage and everyone has been so incredibly friendly and welcoming we wanted to invite our new neighbours over for a glass or two and some festive nibbles. Trying to decide what to make was, as usual, very difficult as ideas swirled around in my head until I felt quite dizzy. Cheese gougeres, yes, mini pissaladieres, yes, meatballs and tomato sauce, no-too messy to eat standing up, and so it went on. I then remembered a recipe I created for Good Food magazine a million years ago and I knew it needed revisiting. My idea was to create Christmas lunch in minature with all the flavours you would expect- bacon, turkey(though I used chicken this time), stuffing and a hit of cranberry. It is a bit of work but you can make and bake them up to a couple of days ahead, fridge them and slice and spike them a couple of hours ahead of serving. They really pack a punch flavour-wise which is just what you need and they look and taste very celebratory. So have fun making them and a Happy Christmas to you all.
- 4 chicken breast fillets
- 25 g butter
- 1 shallot peeled and finely chopped
- 2 sprigs thyme leaves chopped
- 1 tbsp parsley chopped
- 1 lemon finely grated zest of half
- 75 g fresh white or brown breadcrumbs
- 1 egg, beaten
- 50 g cranberries fresh or frozen
- 200 g thinly sliced streaky bacon
- salt and pepper
- Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ Gas 6.
- Slice the chicken breasts almost in half like a book and open out. Put between two sheets of cling film and bat out to flatten using a rolling pin. Set aside while you make the stuffing.
- Heat the butter in a small pan, add the shallots and fry gently until softened but not browned, about 2 mins. Add the herbs, lemon rind and breadcrumbs and mix well. Remove from the heat and add the egg, along with some salt and pepper.
- Spread a quarter of the stuffing evenly over one chicken breast, almost to the edges. Press down gently to flatten.
- Arrange a row of cranberries along the length of the stuffing..
- Carefully roll up the chicken to enclose the stuffing and cranberries. Repeat with other three chicken breasts.
- Bandage each chicken roll with bacon and put in a roasting tin. At this stage they can be chilled for a couple of days until ready to cook.
- Roast the rolls for 20-25 mins until the bacon is crisp and golden. Cool, then chill for up to 2 days until serving time. To serve, bring back to room temperature then slice thinly and spike each roll with a cocktail stick.
