Ingredients
- 1 bulb of garlic
- ½ a bunch of fresh thyme
- olive oil
- 1800 gr. free-range chicken
- 1 lemon
- 2000 gr. duck
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- ½ a bunch of fresh sage
- 4 bulbs of fennel
- 6 red onions
- 8 sturdy sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 2 pigeons
- 2 partridges
- 2 quails
- 500 gr. quality sausages , in one string
- 1 handful of fresh bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon plain flour
- 150 ml Chianti , or other red wine
- 400 gr. tin of quality plum tomatoes
- 300 ml organic chicken stock
Gremolata
- ½ a bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 lemon
Polenta
- 250 gr. polenta
- 100 gr. unsalted butter
- 150 gr. Parmesan cheese
Method
- Preheat the oven to full whack.
- Peel and add 3 cloves of garlic to a pestle and mortar, pick in half the thyme leaves and bash well with a good splash of oil and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
- Rub the paste all over the chicken, making sure to get into all the nooks and crannies.
- Halve the lemon and place in the chicken cavity along with the remaining thyme sprigs.
- Season the duck all over, rub in a good drizzle of oil, then finely grate over half the cinnamon stick.
- Place the remaining stick in the cavity along with the sage.
- Place the chicken and duck on the top shelf of the hot oven, directly onto the bars.
- Reserving the fronds, trim and halve the fennel, then add to a large roasting tray with the whole, unpeeled onions and garlic bulb.
- Place on the shelf underneath the birds.
- Turn the oven temperature down to 180 ºC and cook for 80′ or until the chicken is tender and the juices run clear when pierced.
- Pick the leaves from 2 rosemary sprigs into the pestle and mortar, then bash and bruise with a good splash of oil.
- Season the pigeons, partridges and quails all over with salt and pepper and drizzle with the rosemary oil.
- Gently untwist the links between the sausages and push the meat along to make one long sausage.
- Start by curling one end in, then twirl the sausage round itself in a spiral until you have one big circle of sausage.
- Place a few bay leaves in between the spirals.
- Sharpen the ends of the rosemary sprigs, then use them to skewer and secure the sausages in place.
- Drizzle with oil.
- Once cooked, remove the chicken to a plate, cover with tin foil and a clean tea towel, then leave to rest.
- Place the small birds directly on the oven shelf next to the duck.
- Place the sausage wheel on top of the roasting vegetables, then cook along with the birds for 30′, or until the birds are tender and cooked through.
Gremolata
- Pick and finely chop the parsley leaves, peel and finely chop the garlic, then place into a bowl with the reserved fennel fronds.
- Finely grate over the lemon zest and add a squeeze of lemon juice.
- Once cooked, remove the birds from the oven and leave to rest.
- Move the roasting tray to the top of the oven and cook for a further 15′.
Polenta
- Bring 1.1 litres of water to the boil in a large pan.
- Once boiling, gradually add the polenta, whisking continuously until combined.
- Continue to stir over the heat for 15 – 20′, or until oozy, thickened and smooth.
- Place the cooked veggies on a plate, then skim away and discard the fat from the tray.
- Pop the tray on a medium heat on the hob, stir in the flour for 1 minute, then pour in the chianti.
- Scrape up all that lovely goodness from the bottom of the tray, then add the plum tomatoes, any resting juices from the chicken and the stock.
- Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5′, or until thickened and reduced to a lovely gravy.
- Stir the butter into the polenta and finely grate in the Parmesan, adding a little water to loosen, if needed.
- Carve up the birds and slice the sausage, squeeze the onions and garlic out of their skins, then serve it all up on a board with the polenta.
- Scatter the gremolata on top and serve the gravy and some steamed greens on the side.