A reader’s recipe for pheasant crumble

Reader and keen Shot Dominic Russell had a problem. His wife said she wasn’t a fan of game.

Refusing to believe this he decided to create a game dish that would slide in under the radar and so his recipe for pheasant crumble was created.

Now his wife has said it is one of her favourite dishes. Originally created to trick his wife into eating game as she wasn’t a fan – this pheasant crumble is now one of her favourite dishes … The pheasant was courtesy of Caswell Farm shoot, near to where Dominic lives.

(If you’re looking to buy pheasant online try the Wild Meat Company.)

Dominic says his pheasant crumble serves six but we’d say allow for five, given how hungry shooters are after a day out in the field. You can make the crumble the old-fashioned way, by hand, but a food processor makes it deliciously in seconds.

Pheasant crumble recipe

Ingredients

• 4 or more diced pheasant breasts
• 250g smoked lardons or bacon
• 4 tbps olive or rapeseed oil
• 2 chopped onions (or one large one)
• 3 fine chopped cloves garlic
• 1-2 finely chopped red chillies
• 700g jar of passata
• Large glass of white wine (you can use a splash of sherry as well)
• 1 vegetable stock cube and cup of boiling water

For the crumble topping

• A couple of crusty rolls (or any breadcrumbs you might have to hand)
• 25g walnuts (optional)
• 2-3 sprigs of rosemary
• 2-3 big spoons of parmesan cheese

 Method

• • Turn oven on to 180°C or equivalent
  • In a big casserole dish heat the olive oil on the hob and add the onions. Once softened and transparent add garlic, chillies and lardons/bacon.
  • Add the diced pheasant breast and stir until pieces are turning brown, about three minutes.
  • Pour in white wine and reduce a little, then add passata and vegetable stock
  • Season if necessary
  • Leave to reduce for around 20-30 minutes on a low heat. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t dry out.
  • Meanwhile in the Magimix or food processor mix up the bread, finely chopped rosemary, walnuts and parmesan to make the crumble topping
  • Put the pheasant mix in a lasagne type dish and sprinkle over the crumble mix
  • Bake for 20 minutes at 180°C  or until the crumble is golden brown
  • Serve up to the hungry hordes

This is a great dish to make ahead. Just put in the fridge and cover and it will keep for a day or so until you are ready to cook.