Ingredients

• 4 partridges (or poussin)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 shallots
• peeled
• finely chopped
• 100g/3½oz fresh white breadcrumbs
• 150g/5oz good-quality pork sausage meat
• 75g/3oz cooked chestnuts
• chopped
• 4 fresh sage leaves
• finely chopped
• 4 dried apricots
• finely chopped
• 1 lemon
• zest only
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 streaky bacon rashers

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 5.
• Rinse the partridges
• inside and out
• then pat dry
• inside and out
• using kitchen paper. Set aside.
• Heat half of the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the shallots and fry for 4-5 minutes
• or until softened but not coloured.
• Mix together the breadcrumbs
• sausage meat
• chestnuts
• sage leaves
• apricots and lemon zest in a bowl until well combined. Stir in the cooked onions and season
• to taste
• with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set the stuffing mixture aside to cool.
• When the stuffing mixture has completely cooled
• stuff the partridges with it. Place the stuffed partridges into a roasting tray and smear the remaining butter all over them. Top each partridge with two rashers of streaky bacon.
• Roast the stuffed partridges in the oven for 45 minutes
• or until cooked through (the partridges are cooked through when the juices run clear when a skewer is inserted into the thickest part of each bird). Set aside to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
• Serve with fondant potatoes and pickled pears.