“This might seem a bit fiddly, but it’s delicate, delicious and definitely worth it. Make the garlic butter in advance to save time – it’ll keep in the fridge for two weeks, or a couple of months in the freezer. ”
Make a garlic butter by peeling and pounding the garlic with a good pinch of sea salt in a pestle and mortar until you have a paste.
Add the butter, then pick, finely chop and add the parsley leaves. Continue pounding until well mixed.
Spoon the butter onto a piece of greaseproof paper and tightly roll up into a log shape, twisting each end like a Christmas cracker to seal.
Place it in the fridge and leave it to chill for at least 20 minutes to firm up.
Lay the partridge breasts, smooth side down, on a chopping board, then make a small incision in the thick part of each fillet, making sure you don’t cut all the way through, to make a little pocket.
Cut 4 knobs of garlic butter off the log (using about half of it) and stuff one in each pocket, then cover the incision with a flap of the fillet. Save the rest of the garlic butter for another day.
Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6.
Scatter the flour on a plate with a good pinch of salt and black pepper, then whisk the eggs in a shallow bowl and place next to the flour. Put the breadcrumbs in a separate shallow bowl.
Dip each partridge fillet in the flour (shaking off the excess), then in the egg (letting any extra run off), then coat in the breadcrumbs.
Heat a lug of oil in a large ovenproof pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the partridge kievs for a couple of minutes on each side, or until lightly golden.
Transfer the pan to the oven and continue to cook the kievs for 8 to 10 minutes, or until dark golden and cooked through.
Serve straight away with lemon wedges and a crisp garden salad, if you like.