Ingredients

• 2 legs guinea fowl
• boned
• 100g/3½oz coarse rock salt
• 1 litre/1¾ pints duck fat
• 2½ tsp fresh thyme
• 2 litres/3½ pints chicken stock
• 1 guinea fowl crown
• fine salt
• for seasoning
• a little vegetable oil
• 2 knobs of butter
• fresh thyme leaves
• 2 garlic cloves
• 4 bacon lardons
• 175ml/6fl oz dry white wine
• 125ml/4fl oz white wine vinegar
• 60g/2¼oz caster sugar
• 150g/5½oz baby onions
• peeled
• 50g/1¾oz unsalted butter
• 2 banana shallots
• thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves
• 100g/3½oz bacon skin and rind
• 150ml/5fl oz dry white wine
• 1½ tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 250g/9oz clear chicken stock
• 100g/3½oz crème fraIche
• 150g/5½oz fresh broad beans (podded weight)
• 1 cos lettuce
• cut into thin strips
• few pea shoots and flowers
• to garnish

Directions

• For the confit guinea fowl legs
• rub salt all over the legs
• cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Heat the fat in a saucepan to 74C/165F.
• Rinse the salt from the legs with running cold water and dry them with a cloth. Submerge the legs in the fat and add the thyme. Cook for 2½ hours
• then leave to cool in the fat. Take the legs out and wipe the fat from surface of the meat. Cut into 1cm/½in dice and set aside.
• For the roast guinea fowl crown
• heat the stock in a large pan to 78C/172F. Poach the crown in the stock for 5 minutes
• then remove it
• dry the skin with a cloth
• then season all over with salt. Preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas 3.
• Heat an ovenproof pan and add the vegetable oil. Brown the crown in the pan a little
• then add a knob of butter and continue to brown until the crown is golden all over. Add the thyme and garlic
• then transfer to the oven and roast for 5 minutes.
• Remove and place the crown on a rack to rest for 5 minutes before carving off the breasts.
• Meanwhile
• for the onion shells
• put the wine
• vinegar and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook until the sugar is dissolved
• then add the onions. Simmer for 30 minutes. Leave to cool in the liquor
• then break the onions down into individual shells.
• For the sauce
• heat the butter in a clean pan and gently fry the shallots
• garlic and bacon for 3 minutes
• or until translucent. Turn up the heat and de-glaze the pan with the wine. Add the thyme
• then cook until the volume is reduced by two-thirds. Add the stock and cook again to reduce by two-thirds. Pass the sauce through a sieve
• then whisk in the crème fraiche and season to taste with salt.
• Blanch the broad beans for 2 minutes in rapidly boiling
• salted water
• then refresh in iced water. Once cold
• peel off the outer skins and add the beans to the sauce.
• Heat the remaining knob of butter in a clean pan until foaming. Add the lardons and cook until caramelised.
• Just before serving heat a pan and add the diced confit guinea fowl leg. Cook to caramelise then add to the sauce. Heat the sauce through
• then add the lettuce to the sauce to wilt it. Add the lardons.
• Serve slices of breast meat with the sauce spooned over and garnish with pea shoots and flowers.