Poussin with quince and myrtle

Dissolve sugar in water and bring to simmering point. Wash quince. Cut into quarters without peeling or coring. Drop into sugar syrup and cover tightly. Simmer for at least 2 hours until quince is a deep-pink. Allow to cool in syrup.

Preheat oven to 200C.

Wipe poussin inside and out and season with salt and pepper. Stuff each cavity with 1 crushed clove of garlic and a walnut-sized piece of butter and then push in one piece of the quince and the myrtle sprig. Rub more softened butter over skin of bird. Drizzle over a little of the quince syrup.

Place birds in oven, breast uppermost, and cook for 15 minutes. Turn upside down for another 15 minutes. Then turn again and cook for 5 minutes, or until leg juices run clear when pierced with a fine skewer. Add chunks or wedges of cornbread to the oven for the last 5 minutes, either on a tray beside the birds or in the baking dish underneath the birds for a juicier effect. Tip off fat from dish and remove poussin to a hot plate to keep warm. Add the remaining quince (cut into bite-sized pieces) to the pan together with the cooked spinach and cook until spinach is hot and the quince has started to caramelise on each side.

Serve around the chicken.