This is our own invention and is a really good non-meat alternative. You can eat this either as a starter or as a main course. It is quite rich, so if you use it as a starter, you only need a smallish ramekin per person.

Ingredients for 8 as a starter or 4 as a main course.

• 8 sheets of Lasagne Pasta; 60 grams plain flour;
• 150 grams butter;
• 1 litre milk;
• 450 grams mixed brown and white crabmeat;
• 200 grams peeled king prawns;
• 150 grams freshly grated Parmesan;
• 200 grams grated Cheddar or Gruyere;
• a good handful of freshly chopped Parsley;
• Salt & freshly ground Black Pepper.

Method

• Melt the butter in a non-stick saucepan. Add the flour and blend, stirring all the time. Cook for a couple of minutes to cook the flour, still stirring. Remove from the heat.
• Bring the milk to near boiling. Place the butter and flour mixture back on a very gentle heat and add the milk a little at a time stirring constantly with a whisk. Season with lots of black pepper and a little, but not too much, salt. This will only take a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and set to one side.
• Butter your dish or dishes, depending on whether you are using 8 ramekins or one dish.
• Place a layer of soaked (or “no pre-soak”) pasta on the bottom, cover with a mixture of crabmeat and prawns, together with some of your white sauce and generously sprinkle with Parmesan.
• Place another layer of pasta on this, then more crab and prawns and white sauce and so on, until the dish is not quite full.
• Place a final layer of pasta on top, cover generously with white sauce and sprinkle with grated Cheddar or Gruyere and a bit more ground black pepper.
• Cook at 425F / 220C / Gas 7 and for 20 to 25 minutes until bubbling and golden.
• Serve with crusty French bread.

My mouth is watering at the thought!

Not only is this quite delicious, but it is a really easy recipe and the end result is some of the most tender and tasty pheasant you’ve ever eaten. By using just the thighs, one avoids all the sinews which are in the lower part of the legs.

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 2 packs of Pheasant Thighs (16 thighs);
• 2 tins Duck or Goose fat
• Coarse Salt,
• Fresh or dried Thyme.

Method

• Place the Pheasant thighs in a dish, covering liberally with salt and thyme. You can put them in layers if need be.
• Cover with cling film and leave overnight or for at least 7 or 8 hours.
• Shake off the loose salt and thyme before placing in an oven dish.
• Cover with the duck or goose fat.
• Cook on a very low heat for 2 to 3 hours, turning once or twice to make sure the joints are covered in fat at all times.
• Remove from the fat and dry on kitchen paper.
• Serve on a mixed salad of soft leaves with some crusty bread

Ingredients for 4 people

• 4 Pheasant Breasts;
• 100g diced streaky bacon;
• 1 medium onion diced fine;
• 2 sticks celery, chopped;
• 1 medium carrot sliced thinly;
• 2 small leeks chopped;
• 2 crushed cloves garlic;
• 50g sliced mushrooms;
• 1 glass brandy;
• freshly ground black pepper, salt to taste
• ½ pint double cream.

For the Marinade:

• 1 tablespoon runny honey;
• 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce;
• 2 tablespoons Sesame Oil;
• 1 sprig fresh thyme.

Method

• Marinate the pheasant breasts for an hour in the above marinade, turning at half time. This will make them moist and tender.
• Fry the bacon, onion, celery, carrot and garlic in an ovenproof casserole with a lid, until the vegetables are translucent but not brown.
• Fry the mushrooms in a little butter for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add to the casserole.
• Using the same frying pan, flash fry the pheasant breasts (which you have removed from the marinade, dried and dusted in flour) in a couple of tablespoons of good Olive oil, until just turning golden. Put them in the casserole on top of the vegetables.
• Cover and cook in a medium oven for 25 minutes, adding the brandy 10 minutes before the end and the cream 5 minutes before serving. You can omit the cream if you wish, it does make the dish wonderfully rich!

This has to be one of the most delicious pasta dishes, made using four classic Italian ingredients: Pasta, Parma Ham, dried wild mushrooms and Parmesan Reggiano. You can eat this either as a starter or as a main course. It is very rich, so if you use it as a starter, you only need a smallish ramekin per person.

Ingredients for 8 as a starter or 4 as a main course.

• 8 sheets of Lasagne Pasta
• 60 grams plain flour;
• 150 grams butter
• 1 litre milk
• 450 grams fresh or dried wild mushrooms
• 150 grams freshly grated Parmesan
• 200 grams Parma Ham, sliced into juliennes
• a good handful of freshly chopped Parsley
• Truffle oil
• Salt & freshly ground Black Pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat your oven to 425 F/220C/Gas 7
2. Melt the butter in a non-stick saucepan.
3. Add the flour and blend, stirring all the time. Cook for a couple of minutes to cook the flour, still stirring. Remove from the heat.
4. Bring the milk to near boiling. Place the butter and flour mixture back on a very gentle heat and add the milk a little at a time stirring constantly with a whisk. This will only take a couple of minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and set to one side.
6. If you are using fresh wild mushrooms, slice them into chunks and fry gently in olive oil. If you are using dried, soak them well in cold water, drain them and add to the béchamel.
7. Cut the Parma Ham into juliennes and add them too.
8. Sprinkle in the chopped Parsley and season with salt and pepper. Don’t add too much salt as the Parma Ham and the Parmesan both have a certain amount of salt in them.
9. Bring the mixture to the boil and remove from the heat. Butter your dish or dishes, depending on whether you are using 8 ramekins or one dish.
10. Place a layer of soaked (or “no pre-soak”) pasta on the bottom, cover with the mixture and generously sprinkle with Parmesan. Repeat this until your dish is full.
11. Place a knob of butter on top of a ramekin dish or several knobs on top of a single dish.
12. Place in oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes until bubbling and golden.
13. Just before bringing it to the table, you can drizzle a little Truffle oil over the top for an extra subtle and delicious flavour.

My mouth is watering at the thought!

Ingredients

• 400g puff pastry
• egg wash, (1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp milk)
• 80g emmenthal or parmesan, freshly grated
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Method

• Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to a 28 x 12cm rectangle, about 2mm thick.
• Roll it loosely over the rolling pin and unroll it onto the prepared baking tray.
• Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4.
• Brush the entire surface of the pastry with eggwash and sprinkle over the grated cheese evenly.
• Mix the paprika and cayenne together and dust it over the surface.
• Use a cook’s knife to trim the edges of the pastry, then halve it lengthways to make 2 bands, each measuring 14 x 12cm.
• Cut each piece into 1cm wide strips, making 24 straws in all.
• Lift each cheese straw with a palette knife, hold both ends and twist them 6 times in opposite directions to make a spiral.
• Put the straws on a baking sheet and bake for 5-6 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and immediately transfer to a wire rack carefully.
• Leave to cool slightly.
• Arrange the cheese straws in a tall goblet or on a plate and serve, preferably while still warm.

If you have never tried our venison sausages, this recipe is a good way to start. They are acknowledged as some of the best and this is a marvellous way of cooking them.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb + Venison sausages (ours are usually just over 1lb per pack)
• 8 oz finely diced streaky bacon or pancetta if you prefer
• 6 peeled shallots
• 1 jar of mixed wild mushrooms (fresh are perhaps better but much more expensive, and you can always use ordinary mushrooms)
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• ¾ bottle of red wine
• ½ pint game or chicken stock
• 8oz Crème Fraîche
• 2oz butter
• chopped thyme
• chopped parsley
• 10 juniper berries
• salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Take a heavy casserole and brown the sausages all over in a little olive oil.
2. Remove the sausages from the pan and fry your bacon, garlic and mushrooms, sprinkled with parsley.
3. For the sauce, put the shallots and red wine in a saucepan and reduce over a low heat until there is only about two to three inches remaining.
4. Add the juniper berries, stock and the Crème Fraîche and reduce again for a further 7 or 8 minutes.
5. Add the partly cooked sausages, the bacon, garlic and mushrooms and cook for 20 minutes.
6. Just before serving, strain the sauce through a sieve, allowing the liquid to run into a heavy saucepan, placing the sausages and other things back in the original pan.
7. Place the sauce back on a low heat.
8. Cut the butter into knobs and add, whisking as you go with a hand whisk.
9. Add salt and pepper to taste.
10. The resulting sauce will be a pretty plum colour and taste divine!
11. Pour back over the sausages, sprinkle with chopped parsley and a little thyme and serve with creamy mashed potato and crusty bread to wipe up any extra sauce!

Serves as many you care to share with.

Ingredients

• 4oz plain flour
• 1 egg
• ½ pint milk
• salt & pepper

Method

1. Combine the milk and the flour to make a smooth paste.
2. Gradually beat in the milk, adding salt & pepper.
3. Leave to stand in the fridge for an hour or so.
4. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
5. Put the sausages in a deepish roasting tin or oven dish with a little oil or dripping.
6. Cook them for 10 minutes.
7. Increase the heat to 200 °C.
8. Take the batter out of the fridge and beat it thoroughly again to make it light and airy.
9. Pour over the hot sausages and return to the oven for around 20 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

A very easy and very delicious way of presenting vegetables.

Serves about 50 pieces

Ingredients

• 1 large egg yolk or 2 small
• 12 fl oz or 340 ml iced water
• 8 oz 225 g plain flour
• a pinch of salt
• Vegetables such as courgettes, mushrooms, cauliflower, asparagus, or peppers, cut into bite-sized pieces.

Method

1. Combine ingredients and mix well. It should not be smooth.
2. Use batter almost straight away.
3. Dip the vegetable pieces one at a time, in the batter and shallow fry in clean oil.
4. Place on kitchen towel to dry after cooking. It is a very “thin” batter, and the vegetable’s colour will show through after cooking.
5. They can be used as a vegetable or as nibbles.
6. This batter is equally good for things like prawns.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ½ a small leek, finely sliced
• 70g Iberico or Serrano ham, diced very small
• 60g plain flour
• 75ml stock
• 325 ml whole milk
• freshly grated nutmeg
• salt & pepper
• 75g plain flour
• 2 beaten eggs
• 75g dried breadcrumbs

Method

1. Sauté the leek until soft.
2. Stir in the ham and fry for a further 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the 60g flour and fry for approximately 5 minutes until the mixture is golden but not burnt.
4. Combine the milk and stock and heat until hot but not boiling.
5. Season with a few scrapes of nutmeg.
6. Add to the mixture a little at a time stirring constantly.
7. Cook for around 10 minutes until well cooked.
8. Add some pepper. The ham can be salty, so go carefully with the salt.
9. The resulting béchamel should be really thick. Smooth it onto a baking tray and cool in the fridge for an hour or so.
10. Form the mixture into small sausage shapes, approximately 3 cm in diameter and 4 cm long.
11. Dust with flour, dip in the beaten egg and then coat with the breadcrumbs.
12. Shallow or deep fry them in boiling oil and cook for 3 or 4 minutes until golden.
13. Drain on kitchen paper on a warm dish in the oven.
14. Allow to cool a little before eating, they get very hot! Serve with salad and crusty bread.