You will need: 2 fresh oven-ready pheasants; 350g minced belly pork; two 250g packs unsmoked streaky bacon – 150g chopped very small and the rest to line the container; 120g of golden sultanas; 1 tbsp of Armagnac; 120g chopped chestnuts; 1 heaped tbs
p of chopped mixed parsley, sage and thyme; finely grated rind of half an orange; 2 tsp of grainy mustard; grated nutmeg; ground sea salt and black pepper; olive oil for greasing.
To make the terrine: Brush the inside of your container lightly with olive oil. Set aside 150g of bacon for the mixture and use the rest to line the container. Flatten and stretch each rasher on a board with a palette knife, making them longer and suitable for lining the terrine. Leave a surplus overlapping the sides of the container to fold back across the meat once it is packed.
Pour the Armagnac over the sultanas and leave them to soak. Remove the whole breasts from both pheasants. Keep the two best for the centre of the terrine, chop the others very small and place chopped meat in a mixing bowl. Remove as much of the remaining meat from the pheasants as possible, chop it very finely and add to bowl. Add the minced pork and chopped bacon. You should have around 750g of meat. Add the mustard, orange rind, herbs, grated nutmeg and seasoning. Mix well with your fingers.
Roughly chop the sultanas and add to the meat together with the chopped chestnuts. Mix again.
Take a little less than half of the mixture and pack firmly in the bottom of the bacon-lined tin.
Lay the two whole breasts down the centre of the tin, on top of the first layer of meat, keeping them from the edges of the container.
Now, pack the remaining meat mixture tightly on top of, and all around, the breasts. There will be enough to fill the container to the top. Bring the overlapping bacon back across the top of the mixture, completely encasing the terrine.
Cover with a layer of greaseproof paper and use the container lid or a layer of foil to seal it. Place the container in a deep roasting tin, half-filled with hot water and put on the centre shelf of a moderately hot oven (gas mark five, 190C). Bake for one hour.
Remove from oven and peel back the foil lid. Check that the juices are clear and the meat feels firm to touch. If necessary, return to the oven for a further 15 minutes.
Once cooked, leave covered, place a heavy weight on the container and leave to cool completely.
Turn the terrine out carefully from the container – the mixture should still be completely encased in bacon. Wrap the terrine in fresh paper and foil and chill in the fridge before slicing and serving.
For the cider and apple sauce: Warm 250ml cider in a saucepan with 4 cloves, 1 broken cinnamon stick, a sprig of thyme and a shaving of orange rind. Leave to infuse in a warm place. Meanwhile, peel, core and chop two large cooking apples. Place in a saucepan with a dash of water, the grated rind of half an orange and two teaspoons of caster sugar. Cover with a lid and cook over a low heat until the apple is soft and pulpy. Stir in 250g soft brown sugar and liquidise to make a puree. Add the strained cider, stir well and sieve. Serve hot or cold.
PAN-FRIED VENISON COLLOPS with bramble and bitter chocolate game gravy, wild mushroom risotto and spiced red cabbage: The word "collops" comes from the French word "escalope", and chocolate is a fantastic ingredient in cooking wild game.
Buy four venison fillet steaks, or ask your butcher to prepare half a whole loin for you. This could be large enough to serve six or eight people, depending on the size of the beast it comes from. If you buy as a whole strip, ask for it to be boned and trimmed. Your butcher should provide the trimmings and the chopped bones, so you can make game stock, which is preferable for making the sauce.
At this time of year, pick some wild brambles instead of using the commercially grown blackberries.
For the marinade: mix together the following ingredients: 4 tbsp red wine; 2 tbsp olive oil; 2 pieces of orange peel, shaved with a potato peeler to avoid the bitter pith; 1 fat clove of garlic cut into thin slivers; 1 slice of onion, skin on, separated into rings; 2 sprigs fresh thyme; 1 large bay leaf; 4 juniper berries, gently squashed between finger and thumb; 6 black peppercorns; 2 dried allspice berries or 2 cloves.
Pour over the venison and leave covered and refrigerated for up to eight hours, turning the meat occasionally. This quantity is ample for four steaks, but double it for a large whole fillet, turning in the dish from time to time.
For the bramble and chocolate gravy: 50g unsalted butter, cut into 8 cubes and put in freezer to keep well-chilled; 1 finely chopped medium onion; 2 large dark flat mushrooms chopped small; 2 tbsp olive oil; 100g wild brambles or blackberries; 4 juniper berries; 2 cloves; 2 large sprigs of thyme; 1 bay leaf; 1 tbsp red wine vinegar; 1 rounded tbsp bramble jelly, or 1 level tbsp soft dark brown sugar; salt and pepper; 25g finely grated extra bitter dark chocolate; 750ml pre-prepared game stock, made up to a litre of liquid with red wine.
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Brown the onion in the oil, add the mushrooms and stir well until softened. Set aside a few whole brambles for garnish and add the rest, together with the herbs and spices. Mix well and add bramble jelly or brown sugar, stir well over a high heat until the ingredients are caramelised. Deglaze with the red wine vinegar and cook until virtually all the liquid has disappeared. Be careful not to burn. Add the grated chocolate and stir well, together with a little salt and pepper. Pour in the stock and red wine, bring to the boil and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half.
Strain the liquid through a sieve and then strain a second time through a very fine sieve, or muslin. Return the strained liquid to the pan and bring it back to the boil. Whisk the frozen butter cubes, one at a time, into the gently boiling liquid, until it is absorbed and beginning to thicken the sauce. Strain again through a fine sieve, add the blackberries reserved for garnishing and reheat before serving.
You can make the sauce well in advance, and keep it refrigerated until reheating before serving.
To prepare the venison: cook steaks individually, or cook the whole loin in one piece and carve it into thick collops as you serve.
Have a large, thick-based frying pan ready heating on the stove. Place a roasting tin in the bottom of a moderate oven to warm. Remove meat from marinade and pat dry on kitchen paper. Before cooking, pour some olive oil into the saucepan and heat until it begins to "smoke".
Sear the steaks for no more than two minutes on both sides, adding 1 tsp butter after you turn the meat over. Place meat in the warm roasting tin and leave to rest in the bottom of the oven for no more than five minutes before serving.
Your frying pan is unlikely to be large enough to hold the whole fillet, so cut into the appropriate number of pieces before cooking as above. If the pieces are quite thick, you may need to sear them longer than two minutes. Slice the venison into thick collops immediately before serving.
This method will cook the meat to medium-rare, but if you prefer it cooked longer, do so.
While the meat is resting, reheat the sauce and risotto ready for serving, place the collops on top, and pour over the warm game gravy and serve with spiced red cabbage.
PEARS POACHED IN GREEN GINGER WINE: Ingredients for four people: 4 dessert pears, of roughly equal size. Select a round-shaped pear, such as William and try to find pears with a good stem and nice shape; 500ml of water; 500ml green ginger wine; 400g granulated sugar; 2 strips of lemon peel; 1 tbsp lemon juice; piece of root ginger (about the size of your thumb) peeled and sliced; a bowl of cold water with a large squeeze of lemon juice added.
Method: Pour the water into a saucepan large enough for the pears to stand in, add the lemon rind and ginger. Dissolve the sugar in the water over a medium heat, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes until syrupy. Add the green ginger wine and lemon juice.
Cut the top off each pear, retaining the peel and the stem which will be replaced on each pear as a "lid" in the finished dish. Place the lids in the cold water and lemon juice to prevent the pears going brown during preparation
Peel the pears carefully, taking a thin slice off the base to make it flat so it can stand in the saucepan. Place the pears in the water and lemon juice as you prepare each one.
Stand the peeled pear on a board and, using an apple corer, gently remove the core. The object is to have a whole, hollow pear, ready for poaching in the syrup.
Stand the pears in the hot syrup and simmer for approximately ten minutes. The time will depend on how ripe the pears are – make sure you don't overcook. The flesh should be soft and yielding, but still intact.
To ensure they are covered by syrup during cooking, place a circle of greaseproof paper over the pears. Immediately before removing the pears, add the tops and cook for a further two minutes. Transfer the pears to a serving dish, pour over the syrup and leave to cool completely. Keep refrigerated before serving.
Fill the cavity with fresh blueberries or brambles or chopped walnuts and honey. Put the lids on and serve with a spoonful of syrup and ice cream. Warm chocolate sauce is a delicious accompaniment.
• Shirley Spear is chef-patron of the Three Chimneys on Skye. Visit www.threechimneys.co.uk
The full article contains 1820 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
