Serves 4
2 hen pheasants, legs and wings removed
1 small savoy cabbage (dark-green outer leaves removed, cut into quarters)
1 large head celery
3 cloves garlic
1 packet vacuum-packed chestnuts
200g piece of smoked streaky bacon or pancetta
18 button mushrooms
12 peeled button onions
Olive oil
1 bunch of thyme
1 bunch parsley, leaves picked
Glass of Madeira or rich sherry
Glass of white wine
For the stock
Legs and wings from the pheasants and any poultry offcuts you may have to hand
2 carrots
1 large onion
2 bay leaves
1 large leek
2 pieces of celery (Or simply a pint of well flavoured chicken stock)
Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/gas 2. To make the stock, cut each leg into thigh and drumstick (no need to be exact here) and place pheasant pieces, including wing tips, into a large pan, with roughly chopped vegetables, bay leaves, some thyme and a few scraps of garlic. Cover with cold water, bring to a gentle simmer, skim several times and cook very gently for a couple of hours.
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Put a separate, large and, ideally, cast-iron pan on the flame and throw in the pancetta, which has been chopped into chunky pieces. Add a little olive oil to help the bacon fat to run a little. Season the pheasant crowns generously with salt and pepper (inside and out) and colour these in the pan with the bacon. Colour the breast sides until pleasantly golden and remove; reserve.
Separate the celery pieces and peel away the membrane with a veg peeler. Cut into 2in batons. Add the prepared celery, the button mushrooms and onions and three chopped cloves of garlic to the pan and colour over fairly high heat in the bacon fat. It may be necessary (and beneficial) to scrape off any pheasant residue from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. When the vegetables have taken on some colour, add first the Madeira and boil away until it has all but disappeared. Then do the same with the white wine. Place the pheasants back in the pan surrounded by the seasoned cabbage pieces, the chopped garlic and plenty of fresh thyme. Pour about half a pint of the pheasant stock around.
Gently separate the chestnuts (easier if slightly warmed) and put about 12 into the pan. Put a heavy lid or large plate on top of the pan and bring back to heat (until steam begins to escape) and place in the oven for about 25 minutes.
Take out of the oven and do not remove the lid. Leave to rest for at least a further 25 minutes. It will stay hot with the lid on in a warm corner of the kitchen for about an hour. Take out the pheasants and throw in the chopped parsley. Check the seasoning of the liquor and carve the breasts from the carcass. Serve each guest with a whole breast, a cabbage quarter, a piece or two of pancetta and an even helping of the other goodies.
Boiled or mashed potatoes, dumplings, polenta or noodles all go splendidly with this, as would a mature, soft red burgundy, such as Volnay.
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Nutritionist’s verdict
This seasonal meal is bursting with vitamins and minerals to help get you through the winter. Pheasant is rich in iron, a mineral we need to maintain good energy levels as well as help bolster our mood, while the cabbage is great for folate, a B vitamin also needed to fight low moods. It is also bursting with zinc, which is vital for a strong immune system, and it has substantial quantities of selenium, a mineral that is good for a healthy heart and to fight cancer.
However, this delicious meal has about 711 calories and 43g of fat per serving, before you add mashed potatoes, or noodles. So budget your calories for the rest of the day so that you can reap this meal’s many nutritional benefits.
Amanda Ursell