Guinea Fowl Stuffed with Chestnuts and Pomegranate Sauce

To prepare the guinea fowl stuffed with chestnuts and pomegranate sauce, start by boiling the chestnuts. Place them in a saucepan filled with water 1, cover them with a lid 2, and let them cook for about 30 minutes. Once this time has passed, test with a toothpick: prick them to check if they are cooked, and if so, drain them. Set them aside in a bowl 3, cover them, and let them cool; this way, the outer coating will soften and make them easier to peel.

Once cooled, peel the chestnuts 4. You need to obtain 14 oz of cleaned chestnuts, then chop them 5 coarsely 6.

At this point, take the sausage and remove the casing 7; to do this, simply make a cut in the center of each sausage and gently pull it off with your hands. Coarsely chop this as well 8 and transfer it to a bowl along with the chestnuts 9.

Knead everything together with your hands 10 and season with salt and pepper 11. Finely chop the rosemary and incorporate it into the mixture 12.

Set the stuffing aside for a few minutes and take care of the guinea fowl. Singe the guinea fowl to remove any feathers or down 13; we used a blowtorch, but if you don't have one, you can hold the guinea fowl close to a gas flame for a few seconds. Then rinse it under running water 14 and pat it dry with paper towels 15.

Season the inside of the guinea fowl with salt and pepper 16. Then, using a spoon, stuff it with the sausage and chestnut filling 17. Sew up the opening 18 using a kitchen needle or the thickest needle you have and some kitchen string. This will seal it completely and prevent the stuffing from coming out during cooking.

Then cut off the excess string 19 and wrap the guinea fowl with bacon 20. Finally, tie it all with string 21, like a roast, to keep the bacon in place.

Transfer your guinea fowl to a thick-rimmed saucepan or a cast iron pot 22 and let it brown on both sides 23 without adding any fat. Deglaze with white wine 24

and continue cooking for another 90 minutes, basting it occasionally with its liquid 25 and covering it with a lid 26. When the guinea fowl is almost cooked, prepare the accompanying sauce. Cut the pomegranate in half and start to deseed it 27, setting the seeds aside.

Obtain 10 oz and transfer them to a food mill to extract only the juice 28. Then pour it into a saucepan, straining it 29, and add the sugar 30. Stir everything and cook for 5-6 minutes.

Once you have a fairly thick sauce, pour it into a sauceboat 31 and retrieve the now-cooked guinea fowl. Remove the outer string by cutting it with scissors 32 and serve your guinea fowl stuffed with chestnuts still hot, accompanied by the pomegranate sauce 33.