Category: 2.3 Chicken

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Pheasant Paella (or chicken or rabbit)

Before you get upset and say this isn’t Paella, remember my recipes aren’t authentic – they are just mine. The names are how I will find them in my blog…

This is a great recipe for late autumn, just into pheasant season, or a cold spring day. If you use rabbit – I joint 2 rabbits into 5 pieces (legs and saddle) for this dish, miss out the prawns and cook the rabbit to flavour the stock first. Otherwise it’s the same.

If I use a pre-made chicken stock it is from the bones of a roast – adds more flavour.

Prep: 15min Cook: 2hours if your making the stock as you go

Ingredients:

1 portion of chicken or 2 pheasant breasts

1 onion chopped

1 pepper chopped

2 garlic cloves crushed

1tsp smoked paprike

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

20g chorizo finely cubed

125g prawns

25ml sherry or white wine

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves chopped

1 chopped fresh tomato

175g basmati rice

~500ml stock

Method

  1. make the stock – if your using chicken I put 1 leg one wing and a carcass with 1/2 tsp of bouillon in water to simmer for 90min. If Pheasant I use pre-made pheasant stock. Strain and strip the meat from the bones.
  2. In a wide iron dish, fry the onions, peppers and chorizo in olive oil until the onions and pepper are softened.
  3. Add the pepper, paprika and garlic and fry for 15sec
  4. Deglaze with the sherry and add the rice, stir for a few seconds to drive off the alcohol and add the stock and thyme, turn it right down, and cook for 20min.
  5. When the stock is almost all absorbed, add the tomato and 2min later add the prawns. Be brave, as soon as the prawns aren’t grey serve with a drizzle of lemon juice, the prawns will carry on cooking on the way to the table.

This recipe has lots of ingredients – but they all play an important part in the flavour. The thyme and chorizo are the core of flavour here, with the paprika’s just adding more depth.

It’s important not to over-cook the tomato, if the tomato breaks down into the sauce it’s too much – you want it as warm chunks. And I use basmati rice because I only keep that and sticky rice in the house – a decent long grain will do well – you want something that stays separated.

If you want to be fancy you can decorate the top with nasturtium flowers – looks impressive and the flavours go really well.

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Pizza Toppings

This is a list of the toppings and mixes I use for my pizza base. I’ll typically pick two different ones to do at once.

Venison and Blue Cheese: 1/2 onion sliced; 100g of venison fillet into thin strips; 100g soft blue cheese as small chunks; 1/2 a mozzarella as small cubes.

Add the onion first, then venison, then cheese. First had this in Finland – awesome combo.

Balsamic Onions: finely slice an onion and soften with olive oil and 1dstspn of really good balsamic – drive off the acetic acid, then top the pizza and sprinkle 1/2 a mozzarella as small cubes.

If you use a watery balsamic add 4-5times as much and cook it off part way before adding the onion to the pan.

Ham and Pineapple: 1/2 onion finely sliced; 3 slices Parma ham torn into pieces; 2 pineapple rings cut into small pieces and patted dry; 1/2 a mozzarella as small cubes.

A classic, you can do it like this or if you want you can use a tomato base as well – cook down passata to 1/3 to 1/2 volume and a couple of tblspn will cover the base.

Partridge and Pear: 2 partridge breasts cut as thin strips; a ripe pear, peeled cored and cut into ribbons with a potato peeler; 2 smoked streaky bacon rashers cut as tiny pieces; a 1/4 onion or shallot finely sliced, 1/2 a mozzarella as small cubes. (optional add a few cubes of soft blue cheese or goats cheese)

Smoked Bacon and Mushroom: 3 rashers smoked bacon cut into thin strips, fine slices of 1/2 a portabella mushroom, small handful of fresh basil leaves ripped in half, 50ml thick tomato sauce, 1/2 a mozzarella as small cubes

Partridge and Chilli: 1 partridge breast as small batons, 1 chilli finely chopped, 50ml thick tomato sauce, 1 small sprig of thyme finely chopped, a small handful of rocket, 1/2 a mozzarella as small cubes. (optional – goats cheese)

Margarita: 50ml thick tomato sauce, small handful of torn basil leaves, pepper, grating of parmesan and 1/2 a mozzarella as small cubes.

Courgette and Bacon: 1 or two small (baby) courgette as ribbons (use a potato peeler), one or two courgette flowers ripped, small handful of basil leaves ripped, 2 slices smoked streaky bacon as fine baton. Tiny drizzle of tarragon oil, 1/2 mozzarella as small cubes.

Rocket, pear and ham: 3 slices Parma ham torn, 1 small dessert pear peeled cored and as fine slices, handful of rocket, 1/2 a mozzarella as small cubes.

Venison tomato and chilli: 100g venison sirloin as thin batons, 1 finely chopped chilli, 1/2 finely sliced onion, a few fine slices of a beef tomato patted dry, 1/2 mozzarella as small cubes.

Prawns, rocket and garlic: 1/2 pack of prawns, 1/2 onion finely sliced, 30ml olive oil with 2 crushed garlic cloves, handful of rocket, 1/2 mozzarella as small cubes.

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Roast Chicken (or partridge)

a roast chicken is a lovely thing. Either with roasties, or ciabatta – always feels like a treat.

Prep: 2min Cook: 90min (depends on bird)

Ingredients

1 Chicken or 2 Partridge

50ml sherry

olive oil, salt, water

Method

  1. preheat oven to 200c (fan)
  2. pour the sherry into the body cavity(s), add about 100ml of water to the base of the pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
  3. Cook and baste. For partridge cook for 30 min, baste every 10 and turn the oven down to 175c after 15min. For Chicken, baste every 20min, cook for 45min/kg + 20min and turn the oven down to 175c after 20min.
A roast chicken, 15min to go…

I put water into the pan to keep a moist atmosphere while the bird cooks. The high initial temperature and the use of olive oil and salt means the bird will still brown, but will also be succulent. I use sherry to flavour the bird, and because unlike using herbs or spices it doesn’t overly distort the flavour from the stock I make from the bones.

If you like you can use a bit of thyme, then the stock is excellent for paella. Or Cumin, then the stock is ideal for couscous or curry. you can also drape a partridge with a couple of slices of streaky bacon and leave the oven at 200c, but you still need to baste to get the best from it.

To serve I simply joint the bird, parsons nose, legs, wings, breasts. Then pull the remaining meat off. Leftovers are for breakfast or the following days tea.

I will very occasionally roast a partridge, but normally stick to chicken. I think you can do much better with partridge in other dishes, and plucking is a pain! I don’t roast pheasant for two reasons, firstly you have to pre-pull the leg tendons with pliers, and as I said – plucking is a pain,

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Partridge (or Chicken) Risotto

My take on a classic based on what’s available where I live.

Prep: 7 min Cooking: 25min

Ingredients

2 partridge breasts (or one chicken breast) chopped into small piece

100g (about 1/4) of a Red Kuri squash cubed

100g mushrooms (chestnut for preference) cubed

200g cheap rice (with starch so it goes sticky)

1 onion finely sliced

1 garlic clove crushed or chopped

750ml stock (chicken, pheasant or partridge) or 650ml stock and 100ml white wine

1 tblspn sour cream

parmesan, salt, pepper and tarragon oil

Method

  1. start frying the onions in a pan, when they just start to colour at the edges add the rice and garlic, stir for about 10-15 seconds then add the wine then stock after a minute (or just add the stock if your not adding wine). Stir to separate the rice, turn down to 4/10 and put the lid on. Set the timer for 10 min.
  2. when the timer goes, in a frying pan fry the mushrooms and squash using olive oil, after about 5min the mushrooms will be cooked and the squash taking colour.
  3. Add the meat, mushrooms and squash to the risotto, stir and put the lid back on.
  4. After about another 5min the risotto will have sucked up all the stock it’s going to. So take the lid off and see if you need to reduce it for a few more minutes.
  5. When you’re happy with the consistency grate some parmesan into the risotto and add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Stir this in then add the sour cream and stir.
  6. Dish up, drizzle with tarragon oil and a final grind of pepper.
Basic risotto

If you don’t have tarragon oil don’t worry – tastes good without it, you can add a sprinkle of herbs if you like but I like it plain. It’s comfort food for me and warming after a day outside.

I use cheap rice because I can easily buy it, Arborio does give a better texture, but you use what you’ve got.

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Tandoori Chicken / Pheasant / Partridge

This is my take on tandoori, like I say in my ‘about’ page – this is about the ingredients I have to hand, so not trying to be authentic – just after something that tastes good to me.

I love this, prepare the marinade after breakfast, leave the bird in it all day and cook in the evening.

Prep: 5 min Marinade: 2+ hours Prep: 5 min Cooking: 24 min

Ingredients

  • 2 Chicken or two Pheasant breasts cut into 6 pieces each. Or 4 partridge breasts cut in 3 pieces each (skinless)
  • 1 green pepper cut into large squares
  • 1 onion cut into large squares
  • 2 tomatoes halved

For the marinade

  • 1/2 tub sour cream (about 125ml)
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 cayenne chilli finely chopped or 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 1.5 tsp cumin
  • 1 dstspn garam masala
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed or chopped
  • 1.5 tsp paprika
  • 1 piece stem ginger chopped or crushed
  • juice of 1/2 a lime
  • salt and pepper

Method

  1. Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl then add the pieces of meat and stir to give them a good coating. Cover and put in the fridge for as long as you like (6 hours is good). When your ready start on step 2.
  2. Preheat the oven to 225oc (fan).
  3. Make up skewers of onion, pepper and the marinaded meat. place these over a baking tray and pour on any remaining marinade. Drizzle with a little vegetable oil.
  4. Add 50ml water and the tomato halves directly to the baking tray – this is to steam the meat as it cooks and with the marinade drips makes the sauce.
  5. Place in the oven to cook for 24min, baste every 6 minutes and turn at least once during the cooking time.
  6. Take out of the oven and empty the skewers onto the plate, put the baking tray on the hob on a high heat (8/10 on my induction) and stir briefly to mix the remaining water, sauce and roasted tomato halves. Remove the skins and drizzle on top of the tandoori.

Things to think about…

I use Vietnamese coriander paste because I grow it, and I use stem ginger, lime and sour cream rather than root, lemon and yogurt because I keep these in my fridge all the time. But use what you’ve got.

I normally serve it with a little rice (often flavoured with a cardamon pod in the water), a potato or pumpkin curry and poppadum’s or naan, along with dips – basically I love to have a taps style curry rather than a one dish meal.

Oh and skewers – get ones that are wide and flat so you can turn them and they stay – the bog-standard ones are two narrow and annoy me.

This recipe also works on the BBQ and with smoked paprika if you fancy mixing it up, although that’s best reserved for pheasant as it goes better with the taste of the bird.