Pot Roast Partridge

Method

1. Start with the cabbage
Start with the cabbage; it needs a while to cook. Set the stem of the cabbage aside and then finely slice the rest.

2. Sauté & braise
Chop the chorizo into small pieces and sauté in a large lidded saucepan. Add the sliced cabbage, chicken stock and redcurrant jelly, cover with the lid and leave to cook down on a very low heat for 2 hours. The longer it has to braise, the better.

3. Prepare the puree
While the cabbage is cooking, start preparing the celeriac puree. This earthy root vegetable also benefits from a long, slow cook and a little milk or cream – but you needn’t add anything else.

Chop off the top and tail of the celeriac then peel carefully around the sides. Dice the celeriac as small as you can, add to a pan with 50g of butter, and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes to allow it to caramelise. Leave this and the cabbage to cook while you work on the partridge crown.

4. Sear the partridge
Set the oven to 160°C and leave it to warm up. Add a little oil to an oven-proof pan and, when hot, sear each side of the crown.

5. Add seasoning and roast
Add 200g of butter, the garlic halves, and 4 sprigs of thyme to the pan. Season with a touch of salt then move the whole thing to the pre-heated oven. Set to bake for 25 minutes.

6. Check the celeriac
Once the crown’s in the oven, check on the celeriac. When it’s soft, add the cream, stir, and leave the mixture to reduce by half. If you accidentally reduce it too much, just add a little water to get the consistency right. Next, blitz the whole thing in a blender or food processor until smooth.

7. Serve up
As soon as everything’s ready, place a large spoonful of braised cabbage in the centre of the serving plate and sit the roasted bird on top. Finish by garnishing with some hot celeriac purée.