Boudin blanc with wild mushroom served with caramelised red onions & port wine sauce

First make the boudin. Bring the water to the boil in a saucepan. Add the flour, mix together with a wooden spoon, make sure there are no lumps in the mixture and cook over a low heat for 2-3 minutes. Place the mixture in a bowl and leave to cool.

In a food processor, place the chicken breasts, eggs, bread, butter, brandy and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Blend until smooth.

Combine this mixture with the cooled flour mixture. Add the chopped wild mushrooms, mix well, then add the cream. Work until smooth.

Lay a length of cling film on the kitchen top. Put the mixture in a piping bag and pipe a long tube, about the thickness of a finger, on one side of the cling film, lengthways. Make this tube slightly shorter than the length of the cling film.

Roll the cling film across the chicken mixture to form a long cylindrical shape and tie each end with string. Tie string at 10cm intervals to make individual sausages, but do not break into separate sausages.

Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Plunge the complete length of sausages into the boiling water and simmer for 4-5 minutes. The water must not boil or the sausages will puff and split. When cooked, leave to cool in the water, drain and place in the fridge.

To make the sauce, heat one tablespoon of the butter in a heavy-based saucepan. Add the red onions, season with salt and freshly ground pepper, and cook gently for 8-10 minutes until the onions caramelise and turn a golden colour.

Add the port and cook briskly until reduced by half, then add the chicken stock and cook until sauce reaches the desired consistency.

Whilst the sauce is reducing, unwrap the individual sausages. Pat them dry and gently fry the boudin in a pan in the remaining butter, seasoning with salt and freshly ground pepper as you go, until the sausages turn a deep golden colour.

. Season the sauce with salt and freshly ground pepper and place a portion of onion, with a little sauce on a warm plate. Place your boudin across the plate and garnish with flat-leafed parsley.