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We’re at the end of the pheasant shooting season now, so you’ll find a brace of pheasant will be quite a bit cheaper at your butchers. Serve with roasted root vegetables for a real seasonal dish!
Ingredients: (serves 4)
2 prepared pheasants, oven ready (guinea fowl would be an alternative)
1 small onion, sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 bundles fresh herbs (such as rosemary and sage)
250 ml of ruby port
2 tablespoons of mild French mustard
2 teaspoons of redcurrant jelly
Extra fresh herbs, to use as a garnish
Set the prepared birds, trussed, into a large roasting tin with the sliced onion underneath them. Rub the crushed garlic over the breasts of the pheasant and drizzle on the olive oil. Scatter over some salt and pepper and, as the finishing touch, push some herbs inside the cavity of each bird.
Roast the birds in an oven preheated to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 for 20 minutes and then reduce the heat to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4 and continue roasting for 1-1¼ hours or until juices from the thigh run a clear yellow colour.
Remove the birds. Cover them with foil and leave them to stand for 5-10 minutes in a warm place.
When the 5-10 minutes have passed, tilt the roasting pan and pour or spoon off most of the fat and discard it. Take the birds out of the pan and heat the remaining juices in the roasting pan over high heat until it sizzles. Stir in the mustard, then the port and stir over a medium heat for 5 minutes until a rich gravy is formed. Carve the birds and pass the port gravy for diners to help themselves.
For the roasted vegetables try mixing parsnip, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, red onions, red and yellow peppers for a tasty, colourful accompaniment.
Thank you to Meyer for this recipe which is taken from their regular Prestige Customer Magazine. You can find more details on this by clicking on www.prestige.co.uk.
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