Roast Stuffed Pheasant Breast, With Three-Root Mash, Buttered Spinach And Hedgerow Sauce

Method for pheasant

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Remove the breasts from the pheasant, and set aside.
3. Chop the rest of the carcass into pieces and place in a roasting tin in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
4. Heat a sauté pan until hot, add a little of the butter, the onion, celery and carrot and fry for 3-4 minutes.
5. Add the tomato puree and cook for 1 minute then add the roasted pheasant carcass to the pan.
6. Deglaze the roasting pan with the red wine, scraping up any juicy bits and pour into the sauté pan.
7. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
8. Strain into a clean saucepan and check the seasoning.
9. Add the hedgerow jelly and fresh herbs and check the seasoning once more.
10. Set aside until ready to serve.

Method for stuffing

1. Heat a frying pan until hot, add a little butter and the onion.
2. Cook for 2-3 minutes until just softened but not coloured.
3. Place the sausage meat, chestnuts, lemon and sage into a bowl and mix well.
4. Add the cooked onion, season with salt and black pepper and mix once more.
5. Spoon into a piping bag.
6. Make an incision in the top end of the pheasant breast and using a thin knife, or the end of a wooden spoon, enlarge the incision to make a pocket inside.
7. Place the end of the piping bag into the pheasant pocket and fill with as much stuffing as possible.
8. Remove then repeat with the remaining pheasant breasts and stuffing.
9. Place a couple of slices of butter on the skin side of the breast then wrap in pigs’ caul (this will help baste the breast when it’s roasting.)
10. Place on a roasting tray in the oven for 12-15 minutes until the breast is cooked through then leave them to rest for a few minutes.

Method for mash

1. Place the potato, celeriac and Jerusalem artichokes into 3 separate pans of salted water.
2. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until each of the vegetables are tender.
3. Drain and return to the pan, place on the heat and drive off the moisture for a couple of minutes.
4. Pass all the vegetables through a ricer into a clean saucepan, season with salt and black pepper then add three quarters of the butter and the cream and beat well to form a creamy, smooth mash.

Method for spinach:

1. Heat a frying pan until hot, add the remaining butter and the spinach.
2. Cook for 1 minute until just wilted then season with salt, black pepper and nutmeg.

To serve

1. Heat the sauce and whisk in the remaining butter.
2. Place a spoonful of mash in the centre of the plate.
3. Slice the pheasant into 3 on the diagonal, and place on top of the mash.
4. Pile the spinach alongside then, spoon over the sauce.