Crisp sage leaves complement the texture and flavour of parsnips, while a scattering of toasted hazelnuts provides crunch.
GAME meat is good for you and rich in flavour – and it’s in season now. Like wild deer, game birds enjoy a varied, foraged diet and plenty of exercise. As a result, pheasant, partridge and pigeon are all lower in fat, and offer more protein, iron, zinc and selenium than chicken.
Pheasant is the most well-known and plentiful game bird in the UK. The flesh has a subtler flavour than many game birds, making it the ideal choice for those taking their first plunge into the world of game. We have a pheasant recipe (right).
As the largest species of wild duck found in Britain, mallard is the most commonly used wild duck in restaurants up and down the country. The flesh has a distinctive rich, gamey flavour which works particularly well with fruits such as oranges and cherries.
There are two types of partridge – red leg and grey leg. Red legs are larger than their grey-legged cousins, and were introduced to the UK from Spain and France. Both are in season now but the native grey partridge (regarded by many as having the superior texture) is harder to come by.
Whichever species you try, both birds have delicate meat without a strong gamey flavour. Being a particularly small game bird, one partridge is the perfect size to serve one person as a main course.
Wood pigeon meat, unlike most game birds, is available all year round and has a firm but tender texture and tastes like a cross between beef and liver, some say.
Pan-fried pheasant breast with orange, cream and spinach
6
PeopleIngredients
6 pheasant breasts, skinless & boneless
200g smoked bacon lardons
30g butter
250ml freshly squeezed orange juice
2 oranges, 1 zested, both oranges peeled & segmented
250ml double cream
Large handful of baby spinach leaves
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan.
- Pat the pheasant breasts dry with a paper towel. Put the flour and a little salt and pepper into a bowl, add the pheasant breasts and toss to coat.
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the pheasant breasts to the pan and fry for 3 minutes on each side until brown.
- Transfer the pheasant breasts to an oven-proof dish. Add the bacon lardons to the pan and fry until golden. Using a slotted spoon, add the lardons to the pheasant breasts in the dish
- Add the stock and orange juice to the frying pan and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half.
- Next add the orange zest, cream and mustard and stir well. Reduce again until the sauce thickens a little.
- Add a handful of baby spinach leaves to the sauce and cook until wilted. Season the sauce and carefully stir in the orange segments.
- Pour the sauce over the pheasant breasts and lardons, cover and cook in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the pheasant breasts are cooked through.