Two ways to cook with pheasant from 'Feathers: The Game Larder'

As we enter game season, Jose Souto pairs lean pheasant with Asian spices and Italian herbs for a hearty late summer feast that will feed the whole family

As we enter game season, why not experiment with a curry? (Photos Steve Lee)

Creamy pheasant tikka with courgettes and baby button mushrooms

Pheasants came from Asia so it is only right that we should add some spice. This is a very mild curry with a creamy sauce that everyone will love. I have also used sprouting broccoli stalks which I love as they are crunchy and have great flavour. If you want to use the stalk from a head of broccoli that is fine too but just peel the outside and cut into thick slices. Follow the order, adding the ingredients to the letter, and do not overcook the pheasant as it will go dry.

Serves 4

2 pheasants 
50g onion 
50g celery 
1 large garlic clove 
150g baby button mushrooms 
250g courgettes 
200g sprouting broccoli stalks (use heads for another dish)
25g butter 
Oil
75g tikka paste 
500ml chicken or game stock 
50ml double cream 
1 tsp chopped coriander

Remove the breasts and legs from the pheasants. Remove skin from both breasts and legs. Cut drumstick away from leg as they are too sinewy for this recipe, remove all the meat from thigh bone and dice. Also, remove the wing bone from the breast and dice but keep thigh meat separate from breast.

You can chop up the carcass and drumsticks and add them to the chicken stock to improve the flavour if you like. Finely chop the onion, celery and garlic and keep to one side. Wash and quarter the mushrooms and cut your courgettes into any shape you like as long as they are evenly sized.

Take the sprouting broccoli stalks and cut into diamond shapes.

Heat some butter with a splash of oil in a pan and then quickly seal the thigh meat first just to colour it but not cook it, remove from pan and now do the same to the breast meat and keep separate. Using the same pan heat a little more oil and add the onion, celery and garlic but do not fry, just allow to sweat with no colour. Once the onion is cooked add the mushrooms and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. Add tikka paste and turn the heat up a little to cook the paste for 4-5 minutes.

Bring your stock to the boil and add to the tikka mix to make your sauce. Bring the sauce to the boil, add the pheasant thigh only and allow to simmer for 20 minutes and reduce by a third. Take the sauce off the heat, add the cream then return to the heat and bring to a simmer, reducing again to a coating consistency. Add the pheasant breast to the sauce and simmer for 6-8 minutes then add the courgettes and broccoli stalks. Cook for a further 6-8 minutes.

To finish, add some chopped coriander and serve with rice and mango chutney.

Pheasant meatballs with green olives, sun-dried tomatoes, herbs and tagliatelle pasta

You can use any minced pheasant for this dish, thigh or breast meat. The small amount of pork belly and the soaked bread will add moisture and give the meatballs a lighter texture. In the middle of the meatballs, an olive is placed to give a little surprise as you bite into it.

Tagliatelle is a sort of thick flat pasta strip that is easily available in supermarkets but you could do this recipe with any other pasta.

Serves 4

3 slices of white bread 
125ml milk 
50ml olive oil (for sauce) 
½ onion, finely chopped 
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
100ml game or chicken stock 
120g sun-dried tomatoes 
700ml tomato passata 
450g pheasant, minced
120g pork belly, minced (or bacon, minced)
Salt and pepper
90g green anchovy olives
200g fresh tagliatelle pasta 
25ml virgin olive oil (for pasta)
2 tsp roughly chopped basil
25g grated parmesan

Take the bread and remove the crusts then place in a bowl and pour on the milk. Allow the bread to soak up the milk. Heat a little oil in a saucepan then add onion and garlic. Sweat and cook without colour until soft. Add stock and reduce by half.

Now add sun-dried tomatoes and passata then bring to boil and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Place minced pheasant and pork in a bowl with the bread that by now will have absorbed all the milk. Season and mix the meat well, take a small ball of meat, flatten and pan fry then taste to check the seasoning is correct.

Divide the meat into equal-sized balls of about 40g each, wet your hands very slightly: this will help you roll smooth balls. Take an olive and push it into the centre of the ball of meat then roll round again. Allow 4 or 5 balls per portion, depending on size. In a non-stick pan, heat a little oil and pan fry the balls to give them a light colour then, once all have been pan fried, drop them into the tomato sauce and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the pasta and bring back to boil to cook the pasta for 8 minutes or until cooked. Then drain the pasta, toss in some virgin olive oil and season. To serve, place the pasta onto the plate with the meatballs on top and a good helping of sauce then garnish with chopped basil and parmesan cheese.

Recipes from ‘Feathers: The Game Larder’ by Jose Souto (Merlin Unwin Books, £25) is out now