Whyte & Mackay Balmoral Chicken

I love this recipe. Chicken stuffed with haggis, wrapped in parma ham/bacon with a whisky sauce. So easy to make and make sure you've got plenty of tatties for mopping up the sauce! I've used Whyte & Mackay's special blend for the sauce due to the big, rich, fruity flavours. It's only these flavours that are left after cooking, the harshness of the alcohol disappears against the cream.

Ingredients (for 2 people):

2 skinless chicken breasts

6 slices of Parma ham or bacon if preferred

about 100g haggis

a little unsalted butter

Sauce ingredients:

150 ml Beef stock

100ml double cream

2 tbsp W&M special blend

40g unsalted butter

Salt and pepper

Pre heat oven to 200 degrees C. Place the chicken breast flat on a board and slice open a flap the length of the breast. Roll the haggis into a sausage shape and pop it in the chicken. Press the chicken closed. Lay a double size sheet of tin foil on a baking tray. Now put 3 slices of the ham/bacon per chicken breast flat on the tin foil. Place the chicken breast onto the ham and pull the edges over to cover the chicken. Brush with melted butter and grind a little pepper on top before covering with tin foil and popping in the oven. This will cook for 30 mins but make sure to uncover after 20 mins to allow the ham to go crispy.

While that's in the oven, you can get on with the sauce. Put the stock into a pan and reduce by 50%. Now add the cream and bring to the simmer. Add the whisky and stir in the butter bit by bit. Season with salt and plenty of pepper. Serve with new potatoes and veg of your choice.

Enjoy, Craig

Stornoway Benedict

I've always loved Eggs Benedict, if you haven't tried it i seriously recommend! This recipe adds a scottish twist by including a slice of Stornoway black pudding between the ham and poached egg. This adds a fantastic peppery feature to the dish and complements the smooth sauce and salty ham. Any Hollandaise sauce recipe will do but i'll include the one i used.

Ingredients (per person):

Half an english muffin for toasting

Slice of black pudding

1 large egg

slice of ham/bacon/parma ham

light dusting of paprika.

Sauce:

2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

2 Tbsp water

6 Peppercorns

1 Bayleaf

125g unsalted butter

2 Egg yolks

Squeeze of lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

The main effort in this dish is in the making of the sauce. Add the white wine vinegar, water, peppercorns and bayleaf to a pan and reduce to approx 1 tbsp. While that is simmering away, separate 2 eggs and keep the yolks in a bowl. When your reduction is complete, strain into the egg yolks and whisk lightly. Place the bowl onto a pan of simmering water and add the butter a knob at a time lightly whisking as you go until melted. As this is happening, pop your muffin in the toaster, pop your egg in to poach and fry the black pudding for 2 mins either side. Remove your sauce from the heat, add a squeeze of lemon and season to taste.

When everything is ready, place the Muffin down first and stack the ham, black pudding and egg on top. Drizzle the hollandaise sauce over it and garnish with a light dusting of paprika. serve immediately!

This is great as a breakfast/brunch the morning after the night before or as a starter when friends are round. Hope you enjoy, Craig