Chicken en croûte

Serves 2

(Jason Lowe)

Depending on the size of your bird, you could get between two and four portions from the breasts. I've served this with a selection of seasonal mushrooms, sautéed in butter and finished with some double cream and parsley, which makes a great accompaniment to chicken.

2 chicken breasts with the wing bone trimmed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
150-200g butter puff pastry, rolled to about one-third of a cm thick
1 small egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.

Cut the pastry into 2cm-wide strips, brush the edges with the beaten egg and wrap around the chicken, overlapping by one third of a cm and exposing the bone.

Place on a tray and brush with more egg. Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. Serve whole as above or serve cut in half on the angle.