Nigel Slater’s kitchen diary: an indulgent roast pheasant

Photographs Jonathan Lovekin

I cook onions slowly in the melted fat from pieces of pancetta together with garlic and juniper berries, then tuck in some slices of pumpkin for sweetness. The squash will cook to the texture of soft, golden fudge and the juniper will add a balancing note of bitterness. The only herbs left in the garden, the woody rosemary and thyme, add depth to the stock. As an acknowledgment of the season, a glass of cider will go into the pot, too.

The flavours will mingle with the juices of the bird, sealed in by baking in a covered pot rather than a roasting tin. The bosky flavours seem right for the day, the sweet juices a reward for sweeping up the garden’s never-ending blanket of leaves.

A pheasant will only serve two. The bonus is the roasted bones and juices you are left with to make a batch of soup. Once the meat is carved, the bones and morsels of meat left behind can be simmered with thyme and onion, a carrot or two and a stick of celery. Leave to cook for 40 minutes and you will have a clear, savoury broth in which to stir rice-shaped orzo pasta or the tiny stars known as stelline. Any strips of meat can be pulled off the bones and a glass of marsala or dry sherry will add depth and a nutty warmth. I shred a couple of rolled-up leaves of cavolo nero, too, and let them simmer for 5 minutes.

I have put some apples on to poach. Small ones from the farmers’ market, barely the size of passion fruit. The little fruits are bathed in a syrup of lemon and maple syrup. A clear, fresh-tasting juice to follow the rich, woodsy notes of the pheasant. I could also have used pears, the fruits peeled and halved, their cores teased out with a teaspoon.

There have been some brilliant plumes of cavolo nero in the market. The first bunch was shredded finely and sizzled in a hot shallow pan with salted smoked almonds. The second was steamed, the leaves torn into short lengths, then finished with fried bacon and a dressing made from the pan fat, white wine vinegar and a palmful of chopped parsley.

The shops and markets are aglow with pumpkins and squashes. They are heavy to carry and I often treat the largest varieties, such as the blue-skinned Crown Prince, as cut-and-come-again, slicing off a wedge as needed and putting the rest back in the fridge for another day. A squash in the fridge is like a pot of treasure for a rainy day – something to fall back on for soup, roasting or grating and frying with bacon, garlic and parsley.

Serves 2. Ready in about 1 hour.

My father would take his gun to the pheasants that would raid his kitchen garden for tender new shoots. Their favourites were the tender buds of his broad beans, but almost anything was fair game to them.

They would also turn up on the doorstep, in pairs, a gift from neighbours who had too many to eat.

It is worth taking care to source your birds. Suppliers, both supermarkets and butchers, should know if theirs are from environmentally sensitive shoots. Pheasants tend to arrive ready for the oven, but make sure to remove any string they may be tied with.

The meat from one bird will serve two but no more. Choose a pan with a tight-fitting lid that will help keep the steam in, a trick for ensuring juicy flesh.

A small, plump chicken will work nicely here, too, should you prefer. As would a couple of partridges, in which case there would be a temptation to include a few sliced mushrooms to the pan as well as, or instead of, the pumpkin.

groundnut oil 2 tbsp
pheasant 1, oven ready
smoked streaky bacon or pancetta 200g
onions 1
garlic cloves 3
juniper berries 8
pumpkin or butternut squash 500g
rosemary 4 large sprigs
thyme 6 sprigs
dry cider 250ml

Warm the groundnut oil in a deep flameproof casserole over a moderate heat. Lower the pheasant on to the oil and let it colour to a pale gold, first on one side, then the other, then on the back.

While the pheasant sizzles, cut the bacon or pancetta into small pieces. Peel and roughly chop the onion.

When the pheasant is tinged with gold on all sides, remove to a plate and set aside.

Stir the bacon or pancetta into the fat in the pan, lower the heat and let the fat become transparent. Stir in the onion, partially cover with a lid and then soften without too much colour.

Peel the garlic and add, whole, to the pan together with the juniper berries. Peel the pumpkin or squash and remove the seeds. Cut into thick slices, then add to the onions with the sprigs of rosemary and thyme and leave to cook for 5 minutes.

Pour in the cider, season with salt and ground black pepper, then turn the heat up and leave for a bubble for a couple minutes, before returning the pheasant to the pot.

Cover with a lid and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, remove the lid and leave in the oven for a further 5 minutes. Then remove it from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Serve with the onion and butternut or pumpkin, spooning over the cooking juices as you go.