Shooting Times & Country – 17 July 2019

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 83

M

arkHixisa goodfriend,

a keenShotanda vocal

advocateofgamemeat,

andhasbeenkindenough

toprovidethisrecipefortheCountryFood

Trust’sGameRecipesforCharityChefs

project.It maywellbeJulybutlotsofusstill

havepheasantinthebackofthefreezer

thatneedsusingupbeforetheseasonrolls

round.If youhavenever heard of Mark, he’s

wortha fewwords.

MarkgrewupinWestBay,near

Bridport,Dorset,andaftertrainingat

WeymouthCollege,movedtoLondon

whereheworkedunderchefand

restaurateur Anton Mosimann.

HeshottofamecookingatLeCaprice

andTheIvyinLondonbeforestartinga

wholehostoftopcookingenterprisesand

eateries,andwasa regularchefforyears at

theOscarsofficialafter-partyinLA.

ThethingI havealwayslovedabout

Mark’sfoodisthatit matcheshis

personality—it’sunashamedlywhatit is,

it’sverywelldone,butthereisnofaffnor

over-refinement.It’snever showy, while

alwaysbeingbrilliant.

Thispheasantdishisa primeexample

ofwhatI mean—it’ssounderstatedasto

almostseemobvious,butthesimplicity

beliestheskill.It isoneofthosedisheswe

all wish we had come up with. While I’m sure

Markwouldneverwanttotakethecreditfor

whatisanadaptationofa classicdish,this

versionhasa certainstyleandrusticcharm

thatarehisalone.Youwillenjoycooking

thissimpledishandmakingit yourown–

it worksjustaswellwithpartridge but you

willneedmorethanoneeach.

Howevercarefullyyoucookit,pheasant

cangeta bitdry,butI’vefoundthatbrief

pan-fryingindisheslikethisbringsit up

a treat.Youcouldservethiswithallsorts

ofthings,froma saladtopastatossedin

tomatosauce.WhenOctobercomes,it

couldalsomakea heartybreakfast,with

a glassofspicy tomato juice before a day

in the field.

PHOTO KINDLY DONATED

BY

JAMES MURPHY STUDIO

Pheasant

PHEASANT ESCALOPE HOLSTEIN

4 SKINLESSPHEASANTBREASTS

SALTANDFRESHLY GROUND

BLACKPEPPER

2-3TB SPFLOUR

1 LARGEEGG,BEATEN

30-40GFRESHWHITE

BREADCRUMBS

VEGETABLEORCORN OIL

FORFRYING

A GOODKNOBOFBUTTER

2 MEDIUMFREE-RANGEEGGS

4 ANCHOVIES,HALVED

L E N GT H WAYS

1⁄2TBSPCHOPPEDPARSLEY

2-3PICKLEDWALNUTS,

QUARTERED

Ingredients

THEMETHOD

Serves 4

1

Putonebreastona sheetofcling

filmthatis at leastdoubleitssize.

Witha meatorcutletbat— a rolling

pinorsideofa cleaverwilldothejob

justaswell— carefullybatouteach

breast into a neat 1cm-thick escalope.

2

Seasonwithsaltandpepperthen

lightlycoatwithflour,pattingoff

anyexcesswithyourhands,before

passingtheescalopesthroughthe

beateneggandfinallythrough the

breadcrumbs to coat.

3

Heatabout1cmofoilina frying

panandcooktheescalopesfor

2-3 minutes on each side until golden

brown,thenadda knobofbutter

at theendofcooking and turn them

once more.

4

Meanwhilelightlyfrythe

remainingeggsandplaceone

oneachescalope,thenarrange

theanchoviesaroundtheyolkand

transfertowarmedplates.Meltthe

buttergentlyina smallfryingpanuntil

foaming,addtheparsleyandcapers

and spoon over the egg and escalopes.

5

Garnishwiththewalnutsandserve

immediately,astheescalopescan

becomerathercardboard-like if they

hang around too long.

Game Cooker y

D O NATE N OW

USETHEDONATEBUTTONONOURWEBSITE

WWW.THECOUNTRYFOODTRUST.ORG

— DON’T FORGET TO GIFT AID IT TOO!

TEXTFEED10TO 70085

(TEXTWILLCOST£10PLUSYOUR

STANDARD NETWORK CHARGE)

TheCountryFoodTrusthasprovidedfoodtomorethan250,000peopleinneed.It

deliveredinexcessof10,000tonnesofgamemeat— pheasantandpartridge— tocharities

betweenNovember 2018 andtheendofJanuary2019,providingfoodforpeopleinneed.

CulinarylegendMarkHixknowsgameandthismouth-watering

pheasant recipe is quick, simple and just brilliant, says Tim Maddams