Spiced pheasant and onion pilaf

Spiced Pheasant

and onion pilaf

Prep time 30 minutes + 30 minutes marinate

Cook time 1 hour 5 minutes

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4 pheasant breasts • Juice of ½ lemon • 4 garlic cloves • 200g basmati rice • 3 onions • 25g butter • 3 tbsp Blodyn Aur rapeseed oil • 15g thyme sprigs • 15g fresh dill • 3 tsp allspice • 1 tsp cinnamon

Method

To Start

Marinate the pheasant by crushing 2 garlic cloves and mixing with the lemon juice. Season well with salt and pepper and lay the breasts in this mixture for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Simply

Peel and thinly slice the onions and crush the remaining garlic. Melt the butter and 2 tablespoons of oil in a large sauté pan over a medium to high heat and add the onions and garlic. Cook stirring frequently for 25 minutes until the onions have caramelised and turned brown. Remove the leaves from the thyme and chop the dill including the stalks then add to the onions half way through cooking. Now

Wash the rice under cold running water until the water runs clear then add to the onions along with the spices and stir well. Then season with salt and pour over 425ml of boiling water. Stir, cover and leave to cook on a low heat for 30 minutes until the rice is cooked then remove from the heat.

Meanwhile

While the rice is cooking heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 (180°C fan). Heat a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and brown the pheasant breasts on both sides, cover with foil before transferring to the oven to cook for a further 10 minutes.

To serve

Tip the pilaf rice onto a warm serving plate and top with the pheasant. Garnish with some dill sprigs and serve with natural yoghurt.

Heaneys | Restaurant

South Wales Cardiff

Belfast born chef Tommy Heaney now calls Cardiff his home and set up shop in the Pontcanna suburb in 2018 after spells with such chef luminaries as Ollie Dabbous, David Everett Matthias and Richard Corrigan. Rave reviews followed as well as an appearance on Great British Menu. The menu is geared towards a tasting model.

“Our food is very seasonal, fresh and simple,” he says. “Working closely with our suppliers and getting our hands on the freshest of ingredients keeps us on our toes daily with regular menu changes whether it be which fish is coming off the boat or what beautiful herbs are ready to be hand picked in our chef’s garden on the day.” You’ll find game on the menu in season.

“Personally, I can get a bit bored of cooking a steak - as much as I enjoy it! Sometimes nothing beats a beautiful wild duck, pigeon or venison. Don’t let it intimidate you, not only is it really accessible, it’s also purse friendly, a lot leaner than most meats and tastes amazing.” Tommy Heaney - Chef Patron 6-10 Romilly Crescent Pontcanna Cardiff CF11 9NR T: 02920 341264 E: info@heaneyscardiff.co.uk

heaneyscardiff.co.uk

Home | Restaurant

South Wales Penarth

They say home is where the heart is and that is certainly true of James Sommerin’s small restaurant in Penarth that he runs alongside his daughter Georgia - she’s the sous chef and featured in Great British Menu. It’s all about the experience of being looked after with its open kitchen and 8 course dinner menu (4 at lunchtime).

Sommerin received a Michelin star for Home in 2021 after a heroic period of cooking for the NHS during the pandemic. Home’s cooking is everything you would expect for a small fine dining restaurant - seasonal, local and committed to excellence. Game features in season.

“Game to me is a fantastic, diverse and sustainable British product from partridge, rabbits and grouse all the way up to the largest wild mammal we have in the UK: the red deer. To me as a chef it’s important to follow the seasons as that’s when produce is at its best.”

James Sommerin

Chef Patron 1 Royal Buildings Stanwell Road Penarth CF64 3EB T: 02920 710686 E: info@homeatpenarth.co.uk

homeatpenarth.co.uk

Lake Vyrnwy | Hotel

Mid Wales Llanwddyn

Lake Vyrnwy is a reservoir that was built in the 1880s to solve Liverpool’s lack of fresh water. It looks completely natural now but at the time of building the dam it was the second largest civil engineering project in the world after the Panama Canal.

The hotel and spa is now part of the scenery having opened just after the lake was created. Today, the restaurant is a perfect place to visit and enjoy the best that Wales can offer including game in season. The menu is made up of both a la carte and tapas. Llanwddyn Powys SY10 0LY T: 01691 870692 E: info@lakevyrnwyhotel.co.uk

lakevyrnwy.com

Llanerch Vineyard | Hotel

South Wales Hensol

Twenty minutes west from Cardiff is Llanerch - Wales’ only vineyard hotel. It’s nestled in the quiet Welsh countryside in the village of Hensol and is surrounded by woodland and vines. There’s a celebrated restaurant run by chef Andy Aston, vineyard tours and a hotel.

Hensol Road, Hensol Pontyclun CF72 8GG T: 01443 222716 E: info@llanerch.co.uk

The vineyard is the oldest in Wales with all-year-round wine tasting of Caria wines which is the in-house label. On the food front Welsh ingredients are taken seriously and game is a feature during the season. Dishes are created around ingredients so as the season changes so does the menu.