INGREDIENTS:

• 1 medium sized whole Guinea Fowl
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 1 lemon
• 50g diced butter
• 150g soft butter
• 10 springs of marjoram leaves picked and roughly chopped (keep the stalks}
• 4 large swiss chard leaves with plenty of white stem attached
• 250g new potatoes
• A bottle of good olive oil
• ½ bunch of chopped chives
• A few pinches of chopped parsley
• Good sea salt
• Fresh ground black pepper

Start by turning your oven to 175 c to pre heat while we prepare the bird for roasting. Take your Guinea fowl ensure all the innards have been removed from the cavity with your fingers and wipe out with a piece of kitchen towel. Now cut the whole lemon and bulb of garlic into quarters and mix with the marjoram stalks and stuff in the cavity. Next mix the soft butter with the chopped marjoram a few pinches of sea salt and four or five turns of fresh black pepper. Now gently work your fingers between the skin and breast meat starting at the cavity and working towards the head end careful not to break the skin spoon the butter mix between the skin and breast meat evenly and pull skin back in to original position. Simply place the bird on a roasting tray and slide in to the oven for 35 mins check every 8 mins there after till ready. The see if the Guinea fowl is cooked pierce the meat close to a bone and check for clear juices with no blood check around the thick part of the breast near the head end and inside of the thigh bone area. For ease of carving and better end result leave the bird to rest under tin foil for 10 mins this can be used as time to finish heating the vegetables and pouring wine before carving the bird.

Once the guinea fowl is in the oven you need to get the new potatoes cooking straight away, give the new potatoes a good wash removing any soil or dirt halve if large and place in a pan of water to boil with a few pinches of salt, once the potatoes come to a boil set to a light simmer until soft. While the potatoes are cooking take the Swiss chard remove the stems from the leaf and give both a good wash. Set a medium sized frying pan on the stove to heat and slice the stems across in ½ cm slices and the green leaf in half and then 1cm wide strips. Now add the white stem to the frying pan with a spoon of vegetable oil, small knob of butter and pinch of salt gently fry until soft. Once soft add the greens and a spoon of water this will help wilt the greens a little, cook until soft by now the potatoes should be cooked and drained, cut the potatoes into quarters and return to the sauce pan with a few spoons of olive oil the chopped parsley and chives a pinch of salt and few grinds of black pepper, over a gentle heat crush the potatoes with a fork adding a little more salt or olive oil if required. Now simply carve your guinea fowl, spoon the potatoes and Swiss chard on to warm plates and lay the guinea fowl on top and serve.