Roast Pheasant and Mushroom Soup

This rich, creamy soup is a comforting dish for chilly weekends. When buying your pheasant, ask the butcher to cut away the leg and breast meat for you. You’ll need the breast and carcass for this soup, but not the legs – try them in another of our recipes.

Prep: 30 mins | Cook Time: 2 hrs | Serves: 2

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INGREDIENTS

• 1x whole pheasant

• 1x onion diced

• 1x large carrot, chopped

• 1x garlic clove

• 3x sticks of celery, chopped

• Leek trimmings

• 200g button mushrooms

• 200ml double cream

• 2x large potatoes peeled

• and diced

• Sprig of fresh thyme

• 1x sourdough loaf

• 1x tbsp fresh chopped parsley

• Salt and white pepper to taste

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METHOD

1. Buy a whole pheasant, asking the butcher to cut away the breast fillets and legs for you. Leave the breast meat to one side for now – you’ll need it later - and save the legs for another recipe.

2. To make the stock, chop the carcass bones into several pieces and roast in a hot oven for 10 minutes at 200 degrees.

3. Once browned, put the bones in a large pan with the chopped onion, celery, carrot, garlic and leek. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil.

4. Simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes and keep topping up the water so that the bones and vegetables are just covered.

5. Pass the stock through a fine sieve into another pan, then add the diced potato, mushrooms and thyme.

6. Remove the skin from the breasts and gently poach them in the stock for 20 minutes. When cooked, carefully take from the pan and put to one side.

7. Stir the cream into the stock then carefully ladle it into a food blender. Blitz until smooth and velvety then return to the pan and bring back to a simmer.

8. Chop the pheasant into roughly ½ cm pieces and add to the soup. Season to taste and pour into soup bowls. Sprinkle the fresh chopped parsley over the top and serve with warm sourdough chunks and proper salted butter.