Chicken with macaroni and mushrooms

Serves 6

500g pasta shells
300g girolles or other mushrooms
60g duck fat
Salt and pepper
3 parsley sprigs, chopped
25g chopped black truffle (optional)
60g butter, diced
1 large chicken
5 garlic cloves, peeled
6 bay leaves
500ml chicken stock
1 thyme sprig

1 Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Rinse in cold water and drain. Meanwhile, fry the mushrooms in duck fat until softened. Season and add to the pasta with the parsley and truffle, if using. Add the diced butter to the pasta and stuff the chicken with this mixture. Seal with string or toothpicks and place in a baking tray with a little more fat.

2 Set the tray over a high heat and colour the chicken all over. Add the garlic and bay leaves and cook the chicken slowly for 2 hours at 150C/Gas 2, basting every 15 minutes.

3 Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the oven and leave it for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, finish the jus. Pour off the fat from the tray, add the chicken stock and thyme and reduce over a high heat for a few minutes.

Le Poulet du Dimanche menu is available lunch and dinner every Sunday, £95 for two people. Hélène Darroze at the Connaught, Carlos Place, London W1 (020 3147 7200; the-connaught.co.uk)