What is Guinea fowl?

Originally a game bird, but now domesticated and available all year round, the guinea fowl has a flavour somewhere between chicken and pheasant. You can substitute guinea fowl for just about any chicken recipe.

A young bird has tasty flesh, although it's drier than chicken and has a tendency to dry out when roasted unless it’s basted frequently. Older birds are good to casserole because cooking this way helps keep the flesh moist.

Try casseroling in red wine with chestnuts. One bird will serve two people and ready-to-cook guinea fowl - intensively reared or free-range - can be bought from larger supermarkets.