My Old Man's Superb Chicken

• servings: SERVES 4
• active time: 35 minutes
• total time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

170g/6oz mushrooms, any combination • olive oil

1 or cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

salt

ground black pepper

1 handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley chopped

4 x 200g/7oz skinless chicken breasts

1 x 500g/1lb 2oz pack of puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

2 heaped tablespoons wholegrain mustard

1 large winegl of white wine

140ml/5fl oz double cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Chop up the mushrooms - half rough and half fine. To a hot pan, add a couple of lugs of olive oil and slowly fry the garlic with the mushrooms for about 10 minutes. Season to taste and stir in the chopped parsley. Allow to cool. Pull back the chicken fillet on the breast and, keeping it intact, score into the breast and stuff the chicken with the cooled mushrooms (see pictures opposite).

Using a little dusting of flour and a rolling pin, roll the pastry out to around 45cm/18 inches in length, 20cm/8 inches wide and just over 0.5cm/¼ inch thick.

Slice into 4 pieces, lengthways, and wrap around each chicken breast (see pictures below). Brush the pastry with a little egg, and cook in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, put the mustard and white wine into a hot pan and allow to reduce until you've cooked away the alcohol smell. Add the cream and simmer until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, then remove from the heat and season to taste. Slice each chicken breast into 3 and serve with a bit of sauce and a little drizzle of olive oil if you like. Bloomin' gorgeous.