Roast Grouse with Pancetta, Braised Cavolo Nero and Red Wine Sauce

Ingredients

2 x whole grouse oven ready
20 strips of sliced pancetta
½ loaf sliced white bread (crusts removed)
250g dry breadcrumbs
3 shallots finely diced
6 cloves garlic
150g unsalted butter
200g chicken livers
30g dried thyme
1 bunch flat leaf parsley
2 bunches cavolo nero
1 onion roughly sliced
5 bay leaves
2 litre strong beef stock
1 litre chicken stock
1 bottle of Italian Red wine (Montipulciano)

Directions

1. Start by cleaning your grouse inside of any excess blood and patting them dry. Then remove the wishbone from the neck.
2. Per bird wrap 5 slices of pancetta fully around the birds and then put to one side.
3. Next make the stuffing. Finely dice your shallot (save any trim from the shallot for later) put this into a saucepan with 3 cloves of grated garlic and the butter and cook until soft.
4. Cut up the rest of the pancetta and fry your chicken livers in a saucepan in a little oil until pink then chop up as well.
5. Take your sliced white bread and put into a food processor and process to breadcrumbs. Then add your flat leaf parsley, dried thyme and blitz till bright green. To this add the buttered shallots, garlic, pancetta, chicken livers and the dry breadcrumbs and mix together to make the stuffing. Put to one side.
6. Start to make the red wine sauce. In a medium saucepan fry some onion and garlic until brown. Then add the red wine and bay leaves and reduce by half. Add both the beef stock and chicken stock, bring to the boil, simmer and slowly reduce until thick.
7. Make the braised Cavolo Nero next. Strip the leaves from the stalks, slice the stalks very thin and cook in a pan with a 150ml olive oil and 500ml water and some salt till soft and tender. When cooked add the leaves and cook for a further 5 minutes then chill.
8. To cook your grouse take the birds and fill the cavity of the carcass with the stuffing and roast in a hot oven 200c for 10 minutes. When cooked leave to rest at room temp for 5 minutes
9. During the resting time reheat your cavolo nero and red wine sauce and when you are ready to eat put your grouse back in the oven for 6 minutes more then serve straight away with the garnishes.