Recipe Experiment: Stuffed Pheasant Thighs w/ Quince & Prosecco Red Cabbage, Leek Verbena Puree & Creamy Mash

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

I fancied something a little different for a special dinner the other day so when I came across some pheasant thighs at the market I snapped them up, with no idea what I would do with them.  I wanted something tasty & comforting, so I was pretty happy when I pulled this little number together to make a lovely celebratory winter dinner!!

The cabbage is cooked in prosecco, quince and juniper berries, and the cooking liquor is the base for the sauce. Quince juniper & pheasant go very well together and when you add in the fragrance from the leek and verbena puree, it makes for a rather nice bite to eat! With a bit of bacon and creamy mash sneaked in it’s a winner!!! : )

See note at the bottom on lemon verbena.

ingredients (serves 4) 

8 stuffed pheasant thighs

200g leek verbena puree

600g  creamy mash

500g red cabbage in quince jelly sauce

300ml quince & cider reduction

for the stuffed pheasant thighs

8 pheasant thighs (skinned & boned)

120g pancetta

180g mushroom stuffing (recipe here)

~

Put a heavy gauge baking tray in the oven and turn it up to 240C.

Lay a sheet of clingfilm on the table, and a slice or two of pancetta on top.

Place a pheasant thigh on top of that and add a little stuffing.

Lift the cling film from the edge nearest you to roll the thigh and stuffing to wrap them in pancetta.

Place the meaty package to one side and repeat until they’re all done.

Take the baking tray out of the oven and place them onto it. 

They should sizzle when they touch the tray.

Put them straight back in the oven for 8 minutes. Then take them out and leave to rest for 4 minutes.

They dry out if they’re in too long!

for the leek verbena puree (makes ~500g)

500g  leek (cleaned & diced)

1 onion (diced)

50g olive oil

100g  dry white wine

1/2 lemon (juice)

3g lemon verbena (4g on the stalk)

25g butter (cubes)

~

Cook the leek and onion with the olive oil on a medium heat.

Keep the lid on, and cook them until they are soft, about 30-40 minutes. 

Remove the lid and add the wine and lemon and reduce until the liquid had gone.

Pick was and finely chop the lemon verbena and add it and the butter cubes. 

Using stick blender blend until smooth.

for the red cabbage in quince jelly sauce w/ beetroot (makes ~500g)

500g (1/2) red cabbage (coarsely  shredded)

1  large beetroot (medium dice - 1/2 to 1cm)

450ml  prosecco

150ml  OJ

8  juniper berries (crushed)

2 tbsp  quince jelly

25ml  sherry vinegar

~

Prep the ingredients, and add them all except the cabbage to a saucepan.

Stirring until the jelly is dissolved and the whole mix has come to the boil.

Set to a gentle simmer and cook with the lid on for about 15minutes, then add the cabbage. 

Cook for a further 15-20mins untli the cabbage is soft. (to taste)

Drain off the liquor, add a knob of butter and season if it needs it.

for the quince & cider reduction

liquid from the cooked cabbage

touch of lemon

weigh 1/3 weight butter

~

The liquor from the cabbage should have a syrupy consistency. Reduce it until it does if not!

Zero a small pan on a set of scales and weigh the sauce.

Weigh a third the weight of butter and cut into small cubes.

Just before serving, bring the sauce to the boil and add the butter string constantly until it’s completely dissolved and the sauce is rich and glossy.

to serve

Place a ring old off centre on each plate and fill with cabbage, pipe on the mash potato, then the lemon verbena. Slice the pheasant thighs into halves and place 4 halves inside each cabbage ring. Garnish each plate with lemon verbena. Lift the rings just before serving and serve with some sauce on the side. Don’t forget a nice red wine to go with it!!

Result!

One thing that worked particularly well with this dish was the lemon verbena puree. I’d not really used lemon verbena before so when I came across some in that garden I thought I’d give it a test run! It’s quite fragrant and has a lovely flavour with a decent amount of punch! Definitely worth a go if you can find it! (Garden centre!)

(Successful) Experiment - Recipe: Seared Duck Breast - Baked Potato Fraiche - Juniper & Cranberry Cabbage

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

Duck is such a great ingredient, my first memory of actually going out and getting a duck to cook with, I think it was my 2nd year at university, it was after an extraordinarily long revision session, my friend and I were both exhausted and twitching for a fag and a pint. Now there ain't many places open at 4AM that will serve you, and we got to thinking 'What the hell we were going to do!?' After a fair amount of head scratching, we kind of gave up on the idea and decided that a plan for Sunday lunch should be forged, and that is where the idea for roast duck came from. Canny mind me mates got, because he suggested that we could get a duck at that very moment from the New Smithfield Market (we were in Manchester), and, what's more, there was a very good chance that there would be a bar there where we could get a pint! So off we went, needless to say we got our beer, a game of pool and our duck - including giblets and head (still attached) and feathers!!!! More than we bargained for . . . .  more about that in another post!!!

Anyway this recipe is something a little different, and takes less than 30minutes to cook . . . . result!!

ingredients (serves 2)
for the duck & creme fraiche sauce
2 duck breasts
2 tbsp creme fraiche

for the baked potato
2 medium potatoes
20g touch of butter (softened)

for the juniper & cranberry cabbage
1/2 tsp juniper berries (crushed)
1 orange (juice & zest)
1/3 savoy cabbage (1cm strips)
1 tbsp cranberry jelly
1 clove of garlic (crushed)

for the garnish
a little parsley

equipment
heavy based pan for searing!

method
Get your mis en place in place! (Prep the ingredients, and have 'em all to hand!)
Turn the oven on 230C / G8 / 450F.
Put the cast iron pan on the gas!
Slice the duck skin across the width every 5mm.
You don't need oil for duck breast it has enough fat of its own! Salt the skin and put in the pan skin side down!
Medium high heat until the fat has rendered off and the skin is crispy and golden! Should be about 10 -15mins
While the duck's on, fork the potatoes all over so they release steam and put them in the microwave full blast for 5 mins.
Put the oj, juniper berries and cranberry jelly into a pan and leave to simmer.
Put the cabbage on to steam for 5mins.
Once the microwave pings take the potatoes out, put them onto a tray and give them a quick brush of butter, and dust with salt flakes. Then put them into the oven for 5 mins.
By now the skin on the duck should be golden, turn it over and brown the meat side. Take it out when it's done to your taste, and put it to rest on a warn plate.
You can tell how cooked it is by pressing on the breast with your finger or a wooden spoon the same way as you would a piece of steak. [link to real or fake how to cook steak]
Add about 100ml of water to the pan to deglaze it, and then add the creme fraiche, mix until smooth.
Drain the cabbage and mix it with the juniper sauce.

to serve
Pour the jus released from the duck into the creme fraiche sauce, and mix in.
Cut a cross in the top of the potato and add the remaining butter and the creme fraiche sauce.
Place the cabbage on the plate.
Cut the duck into slices and plate, garnish the potato with a little parsley.

Less than 30  minutes for the lot, and I have to come clean: the cabbage - the most experimental part - of this recipe was one of me mums concoctions! Very good it is too!               

I love microwaved baked potatoes, they always remind me of staying at me grans and watchin' Woody Allen films! (aged 8!) "Sleeper" is one that I'll never forget, possibly where I got my crush on Diane Keaton!