Brie stuffed chicken breasts with a mushroom cream sauce and colcannon crushed new potatoes

To make this look extra posh, get cooking rings for the potatoes and have 4.  They sell them really cheaply at The Range (can also be called crumpet rings and they are hollow)

• 4 large chicken breasts
• 180g brie
• 1 packet proscuitto crudo (need 1 piece per chicken)
• 1 jar pesto
• 1 small leek, chopped
• 100g mushrooms chopped
• 250ml white wine
• 500ml chicken stock
• 1 tsp english mustard
• 200ml double cream
• 50ml dry or sweet sherry
• 1kg pack baby new potatoes
• 6 rashers pancetta
• 8-10 leaves kale or cabbage chopped finely
• small knob butter

Put the new potatoes on to boil keep an eye on them whilst carrying on with the instructions below and strain and place in a large mixing bowl once cooked through.

First you need to butterfly the chicken breasts (removing the fillets) and pound them until they are thinned out.

Then open the butterflied chicken up and spread a thin layer of pesto across.  Then on one of the sides place a piece of proscuitto crudo and fold so that it does not touch or go over any of the edges of the chicken.  place a few slices of brie on top of this.  Then fold the butterflied breast in half.  Take a piece of clingfilm and wrap the chicken breast tightly in the film so that the chicken surrounds the stuffing.  Seal both ends of the clingfilm so the chicken is very tightly sealed in a nice parcel usually about 5in by 3in.  

Next put the chicken stock and white wine in a large pan and bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and add all 4 chicken breasts in their clingfilm.  The chicken should be poached for around 10-15mins just to ensure as much as possible the chicken closes around the stuffing inside to keep as much brie inside.

Remove the chicken parcels from the pan but do not throw away the stock and wine, this will be used for the sauce later.  Carefully unwrap the parcels and then put a little oil in a frying pan on the hob and gently pan fry the chicken parcels so they are brown on each side, then set aside on a plate until later.

In the frying pan add the knob of butter and allow to melt on a high-ish heat, chop the pancetta up into small pieces and add to the pan and fry until crisp then turn down to medium, then add half the chopped leeks and saute until soft, finally adding the kale or cabbage and quickly cooking until wilted.

Drain the new potatoes and lightly crush them with a potato masher, the idea is to try and keep them in large chunks rather than mash them.  Add the pancetta, leeks and kale and mix with a knife to combine all the ingredients.  Grease the inside of the four cooking rings and place them on a baking sheet.  Spoon the potato mix into the 4 rings so each one is completely full.  Cover with clingfilm and leave to one side until later.

Using the pan the pancetta was cooked in, add a little oil and saute the remaining leeks and the mushrooms until soft.  Add the sherry and allow to boil.  Then slowly add the chicken stock and wine from the chicken poaching earlier.  Stir in the spoonful of mustard and allow the sauce to boil.  Turn heat down and add the double cream and then simmer until the sauce thickens. 

Find an ovenproof dish with a lid, or use tinfoil.  The dish needs to be big enough that the chicken parcels can all be lay next to one another rather than on top of one another.  Put the chicken into the dish and cover with the sauce, put the lid on or tinfoil across and leave until 1hr prior to serving.

Prior to serving preheat oven to 180 degrees, put the chicken into the oven on a middle shelf and the potatoes on the top shelf (remove the clingfilm!).  Cook for an hour and then serve with green vegetables such as green breans or runner beans.

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