Don't be scared of cooking game – you can cook pheasant breasts as you would chicken
Ingredients
- 50g butter
- 200g streaky bacon, cut into chunks
- 4 leeks, cut into large chunks
- 3 celery sticks, sliced
- 3 carrots, halved lengthways and sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 300ml cider
- 500ml chicken stock
- 2 tbsp double cream
- 6 pheasant breasts, skinned and cut into large chunks
- 3 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 500g block puff pastry
- plain flour, for dusting
- egg beaten with a little milk, to glaze
Method
-
Heat the butter in a casserole dish and cook the bacon for 1 min until it changes colour. Add the leeks, celery, carrots and bay, and cook until they start to soften. Stir the flour into the veg until it goes a sandy colour, then splash in the cider and reduce. Pour in the chicken stock, stir, then add the cream. Season, then bring everything to a simmer. Add the pheasant and gently simmer for 20 mins until the meat and veg are tender. Stir through the mustard and vinegar, then turn off the heat and cool.
-
Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Tip the mixture into a large rectangular dish. Roll the pastry out on a floured surface, place over the dish and trim round the edges, leaving an overhang. Brush the pastry with egg, then decorate with any leftover pastry, if you like. Sprinkle with a little sea salt. The pie can now be frozen for up to 1 month; defrost completely before baking. Bake for 30-35 mins until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 mins before serving.