Roast guinea fowl with sage and lemon mash

Method

• step 1

  Heat the oven to 200c/180c fan/gas 6. Find a roasting tin that will fit the bird snugly and put the onion in the bottom. Finely chop five of the sage leaves and mix with 50g of the butter, the lemon zest and some seasoning. Push some under the skin of the bird, then rub the rest all over. Smooth the bacon strips over the breast, then halve the zested lemon and push inside the bird’s cavity with the remaining sage. Sit the bird on top of the onions and roast for 15 minutes.

• step 2

  Lower the oven to 180c/160c fan/gas 4 and roast for a further 35-45 minutes or longer if your bird is bigger than 1kg (use the timings for a roast chicken). Check the bird is done by piercing the inside of the thigh with a knife and making sure the juices run clear.

• step 3

  To make the mash, boil the potatoes until tender, drain and mash with the remaining 25g butter and a good splash of milk.

• step 4

  Lift the bird onto a platter and keep warm. Scoop out the lemon halves and keep in a bowl. Pour any roasting juices from the tin into a jug and let settle, then spoon 1 tbsp of the fat from the top back into the tin. Put on the hob on a low heat and stir in the flour. Gradually stir in the stock plus any meat juices (discarding the fat) and bubble gently until thickened. Season then sieve into a gravy jug. Mash some of the reserved lemon pulp along with some seasoning into the mash as you reheat. Carve the bird and serve with the lemon mash, gravy and some watercress.