Recipes

This seasonal game recipe from The Bildeston Crown is an intriguing combination of partridge with rich smoked eel tortellini.

Serves 4
 
2 Suffolk partridges
 
For the Pasta

½ lb 00 pasta flour
2 egg yolks
1 egg
50ml olive oil
Saffron water (pinch of saffron in a small pan of water brought up to the boil and then cooled)
- - -
2 large scallops
½ egg white
pinch of salt
Double cream
Smoked eel
Freshly chopped chives.
 
100g white beans, soaked overnight
4 slices pancetta
Sprig of thyme
1 shallot (peeled)
1 clove garlic
Chicken stock (enough to cover)
Diced pumpkin (1 Grey ribbed)
10g Trompets de mort
 
For the Pumpkin Puree

¼ grey ribbed pumpkin
100g butter
Full fat milk

For the Garnish

1 Braeburn apple peeled and diced
8 pieces of walnut (blanched in milk and the papery skin removed)

Method

Remove the legs from the birds and set the crown to one side (these will be cooked last minute). Take the skin off the legs and confit in duck fat until the meat flakes easily off the bone. Remove all the bone and set all the meat to one side. Tightly roll the meat in clingfilm into a sausage shape and allow to set in the fridge for a couple of hours. When set cut into four equally sized pieces and pané in breadcrumbs. Simply deep fry just before serving.
 
To make the pasta, place the eggs, flour and olive oil in the blender and slowly add the saffron water until the mixture comes together in a ball. Take out of the blender and work the dough for approximately 5 minutes. Allow to rest for an hour in the fridge.
 
Blend the scallop meat with the egg white and the salt then add cream slowly until correct consistency. Pass the mouse through a sieve. Finely dice the eel and mix through the mouse with the chopped chives.
 
Roll the pasta out to the thinnest setting on the pasta machine. Using a 75mm cutter cut 4 discs. Pipe a little of the eel scallop mix into the centre, fold the pasta over into a half moon shape, then fold into a tortellini. These will take 3 minutes to cook in boiling water just before serving.
 
Drain the water off the beans and put in a pan with the thyme, garlic and the shallot cut in half. Just cover with chicken stock and cook until the beans are tender (you may have to add more chicken stock). Remove the garlic, thyme and shallot and set the beans to one side.

Sauté the diced pumpkin, when tender add the mushrooms and allow to cook for a further 30 seconds then add the beans in their stock. Cook until the stock is thick and coats everything holding it together, then finish with a splash of truffle oil.
 
Peel the grey ribbed pumpkin and remove the pulp, slice thinly. Get the butter foaming in a pan then add the pumpkin and cook quickly, stirring constantly so the pumpkin does not colour but becomes very tender. Put this in a liquidiser adding a little hot milk until the purée becomes smooth and a spreadable consistency.
 
For the garnish, sauté the apple and walnuts in butter for a couple of minutes, add a pinch of sugar and just as this starts to caramelise, finish with a splash of sherry vinegar.
 
In a pan colour the skin of the partridges for 2 minutes on each breast. Turn them on their back and put them in the oven (still in the pan). Cook for 9 minutes, remove from the oven, add a knob of butter and when this is foaming baste the birds. Remove from the pan and allow to rest for 5 minutes before removing the breast from the crown, they should still be just slightly pink.
 
Spread the pumpkin puree across the plate with the back of a spoon. Spoon the beans and pumpin onto the plate and top with the partridge breasts. Arrange the deep-fried partridge croquettes and eel tortellini on the plate.