Recipe for Pheasant with bacon, chorizo, and tomatoes

George Gossip, who teaches the Game Coookery Course here at the school, says that this recipe is an amalgamation of Elizabeth David’s Pheasant with Spiced Rice, a chicken dish of Penelope Casas’ and his own ideas - anyway it’s delicious.

Serves 6

1 Pheasant - cut into serving portions

1 or 2 chorizos sausages, sliced

6-8 oz good quality streaky bacon diced into ½ inch cubes

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic,

two large onions, sliced

1 lb ripe tomatoes, peeled & chopped (or one 14oz tin of chopped tomatoes)

salt and pepper

thyme and parsley

two teaspoons good-quality paprika - preferably sweet Hungarian

Pilaff Rice

Pheasant stock

Wash the rice in cold water and leave to soak. Bring game stock to the boil.

Fry the bacon in olive oil, add the pheasant pieces and cook lightly. Remove and keep warm.

Add two-thirds of the sliced onion and all the garlic to the pan: cover and sweat gently. When these are cooked, remove the lid, add the chopped tomatoes and increase the heat. Add the chorizo slices and seasonings and cook rapidly to form a thick sauce.

Meanwhile, fry the remaining onion gently in oil, in a deep saucepan. Drain the rice, add it and fry at a slightly increased heat. Then add the stock - a ladle at a time - to make a rich pilaff.

Return the pheasant pieces to the tomato sauce and cook though. Add the wings and thigh pieces first, and the breast sections (which will require less cooking) at the end. Check the seasoning. If the stock has become too thick, add water.

To serve

Serve the pheasant, surrounded by pieces of chorizo and bacon, on a bed of rice - accompanied by a green salad. This pheasant and tomato mixture reheats well.