Spatchcock rolled with morel mushrooms recipe

Created by Peter Kuruvita

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Cuisine: Sri Lankan
Serves 8

For this recipe, you will need a sugar thermometer.

Ingredients

4 x 500g spatchcocks
12 morel mushrooms*, roughly sliced
250ml (1 cup) verjuice*
500ml (2 cups) good-quality veal or chicken stock
200g (1⅓ cups) moghrabieh (pearl couscous)*
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra, to serve
½ preserved lemon, finely chopped
6 water chestnuts, chopped
1 nashi pear, chopped
Baby shiso or lamb’s lettuce (mâche)*, to serve

Prune purée
170g (1 cup) seeded prunes
1cm piece ginger, sliced
60ml (¼ cup) balsamic vinegar

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Preparation

Debone spatchcocks*, ensuring skin is still intact. Cut each spatchcock in half between each breast. Pat dry with paper towel.

Lay a spatchcock half, skin-side down, on a work surface. Season well with salt and pepper. Place one-eighth of the morel slices along the breast, then, starting at the breast end, roll up spatchcock tightly, folding in the sides as you go to form a roll. Place the roll on the bottom edge of a 30cm sheet of plastic wrap and carefully and tightly roll up spatchcock in plastic wrap. Holding both ends of the wrap, roll spatchcock repeatedly on a work surface so that both ends twist to form a tight barrel shape. Tie ends of wrap to secure and ensure water doesn’t enter the roll during cooking. Place in a snap-lock bag and seal, extracting as much air as possible. Repeat with remaining spatchcock and mushrooms.

Place a folded tea towel in the base of a large pan or stockpot (this protects the bags from the heat at the bottom of the pan). Arrange bags over tea towel in a single layer and cover with water. Top with a plate to ensure bags stay submerged. Cook over low heat for 1¼ hours or until spatchcocks are firm to the touch. (Use a sugar thermometer to ensure the water temperature doesn’t exceed 65°C, adding cold water to reduce the temperature as required.) Remove from heat and set aside for 30 minutes. Remove spatchcocks from water and set aside for a further 15 minutes. (If preparing ahead of time, refrigerate until needed. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before cooking.)

Meanwhile, to make prune purée, place all ingredients in a pan with 300ml water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 10 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Process in a food processor until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve and set aside. To make jus, place verjuice in a pan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes or until reduced by half. Add stock and simmer for a further 15 minutes or until reduced by one-third. Season.

Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Cook couscous for 6 minutes or until almost tender, then drain. Return to pan and stir in jus and preserved lemon, and season. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes or until heated through.

Remove spatchcock rolls from bags, then carefully remove plastic wrap and dry with paper towel. Heat oil in a heavy-based frying pan over high heat. Working in batches, cook spatchcock rolls, turning, for 5 minutes or until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towel.

Strain couscous over a bowl, reserving jus and ½ cup couscous. Cut spatchcock rolls on an angle into 3. Divide couscous among plates, top with prune purée and scatter over water chestnuts and pear. Top with spatchcock slices and spoon over reserved jus. Scatter with reserved couscous and baby shiso or lamb’s lettuce, and drizzle with olive oil to serve.

* Morels have a slightly nutty flavour. If using fresh morels, ensure they have firm spongy caps. Wash well before use by submerging in cold water for 5 minutes, then draining well. Pat dry with paper towel. Substitute dried morels soaked in boiling water for 20 minutes.

* Verjuice, available from supermarkets and delis, is unripe grape juice that’s used for a gently acidic flavour. Substitute white wine.

* Moghrabieh (pearl couscous), available from delis and specialist food shops, is a large style of couscous from Lebanon and Israel.

* Baby shiso and lamb’s lettuce are available from selected greengrocers. Substitute baby herbs or wild rocket.

* Ask your butcher to debone the spatchcocks for you.

Drink 2007 William Cole ‘Bill’ Sauvignon Blanc

Photography by Alan Benson.

If you enjoyed this Spatchcock rolled with morel mushrooms recipe then browse more Sri Lankan recipes, meat recipes, entertaining recipes, slow cooking recipes and our most popular hainanese chicken rice recipe.

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