Capón de Vilalba Relleno

Capón de Vilalba is Galician, from Terra Chá around Vilalba in Lugo: a castrated cockerel raised slowly until it grows broad, tender and well marbled, then saved for the Christmas table. Vilalba names the bird and its way of being fattened, not one compulsory stuffing. In Galician homes the filling changes by family; this one follows the old festive line of pork, chestnuts, apple, prunes, raisins and pine nuts, with brandy in the roasting juices. The filling should taste savoury first, with the fruit behind it.

The method that decides it is a long, moderate roast with the breast protected early, then a short hotter finish. A capon is too large to bully with fierce heat. The legs need time before the breast dries, so keep the oven steady, baste every thirty minutes once the juices begin to run, and uncover only toward the end. A thermometer settles the matter: both the middle of the stuffing and the deepest part of the thigh must reach 74°C.

If you're far from Galicia, look first for a free-range capon of the same weight. If there isn't one, use a poularde or a large free-range roasting chicken weighing 3 to 3.5kg. It will be a little leaner and less deeply flavoured, so keep the breast covered and begin checking it sooner. No hace falta haber pisado España, you don't need to have set foot in Spain, but you do need a bird raised slowly enough to have some fat on it.

In the Margin beside this roast I keep two words: "relleno suelto," loose stuffing. Pack the cavity tightly and the centre cooks too slowly while the breast waits and suffers. Fill it lightly, cook any remainder in a separate dish, and trust the thermometer rather than the clock alone. Siempre sale, si lo sigues, it turns out if you follow it.