Scottish Game Recipes
Pheasant with peanut butter, tomatoes and flageolet beans
2 Pheasants cut into quarters
50g (2oz) butter
2 onions chopped
450g (1lb) tomatoes, skinned and coarsely chopped
or 1 x 400ml (14fl oz) tin of chopped tomatoes
125ml (4fl oz) game stock
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
400ml (14fl oz) tin of flageolet beans
or 450g (1lb) borlotti beans
Salt and pepper.
Season the pheasant thoroughly with salt and pepper. In a heavy casserole heat the butter and brown the pheasant all over. Remove from the pan and fry the onions till cooked. Return the pheasant pieces to the pan and add the tomatoes (and juice), the stock and peanut butter. Add salt, pepper and chilli powder, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. If you are using fresh beans, bring them to the boil in lightly salted water for ten minutes; drain and add the beans to the pan, cover again, and cook for a further 30 minutes or until the pheasant is cooked. Tinned beans can be tipped in and then cook for 30 minutes. Transfer to a dish, if there is too much juice, boil to reduce. Pour the sauce over the pheasant, garnish with parsley and serve with potatoes.
Pheasant with noodles and horseradish cream
75g (3oz) butter
4 Pheasant breasts
4 shallot onions chopped
1 clove of garlic
2 tablespoons creamed horseradish
Juice of half a lemon
150ml (5fl oz) double cream
1 pack of Italian noodles or fine tagliatelle
Parsley chopped
Salt and pepper
Heat the butter in a heavy frying pan and saute the pheasant breasts until they are sealed. Remove them and saute the shallots and the garlic until pale gold. Stir the horseradish into the shallots and add a tablespoon or so of water and the lemon juice. Season. Return the pheasant breasts to the pan, add the cream and cook very gently for 15-20 minutes. If the sauce is to wet gently reduce; if the sauce is to dry add a little more cream and white wine. Cook the noodles according to the instructions and drain. Serve the noodles with the pheasant and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Partridges with lentils and pickled lemons
350g (12oz) green or brown lentils
50ml (2oz) olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Partridges, halved
2 large Swiss chard leaves (remove the stems and cut them into small pieces, slicing the leaves diagonally into narrow strips
300ml (1/2 pint) water
2 pickled lemons, cut into pieces or 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Cook the lentils in lightly salted boiling water for 20 minutes, drain them and keep the liquid. Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan with a lid. Fry the garlic for a few minutes then add the partridges, brown all over in the oil then set them aside.
Wilt the charred strips in the hot oil for 2 minutes, remove, drain on kitchen paper and set aside. Return the partridges to the pan together with the lentils, charred stalks, pickled lemons or lemon juice, and add a little of the lentil water. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the partridges are tender. Add the charred strips, heat through and serve with a fresh crisp green salad.
