SEARED PHEASANT BREAST WITH WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO

When buying pheasant, ask for a young hen bird, as they don’t need to be cooked for as long & the breasts are better suited for pan frying

Ingredients

Server four
2 hen pheasants, dressed
2 tbsps sunflower oil

Risotto
300gms risotto rice
150gms butter
3 shallots, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 litre of fresh chicken stock
250 Gms of wild mushrooms
4 tbsps of crème fraiche (optional)
50 Gms of grated parmesan
Salt & ground black pepper
Dressed wild rocket

Remove the legs & breasts, keeping the carcus for stock or soup.
Lightly brush the 4 breasts with oil & season; we are only using the breasts for this recipe.
Heat a non – stick frying pan till it just starts to smoke turn down the heat slightly, add the breasts skin side down until lightly seared , turn over and repeat on the other side ,approx 1minute on both sides .
Place on a non stick baking tray skin side down , transfer to a preheated oven 180 ˚ c for 10 minutes .

Risotto, Heat a large pan and melt half the butter, add the shallots and garlic, cook for 3to 4 minutes until soft. Turn up the heat and add the rice and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, making sure all the rice grains are coated in oil.
Add the wine and cook until evaporated. Start adding the stock one ladle at a time, stirring all the time. When each ladle has evaporated add another. Cook for 15 minutes until the risotto is al dente.

Meanwhile, saute’e the Mushrooms in butter and when they are gone, add them to the Risotto. Finish with the remaining butter, parmesan & fold in the crème fraiche.

Spoon the Risotto on each plate; lay a pheasant breast on the top, garnish with wild washed rocket, season & drizzle with olive oil.