The Darina Allen Column

This month Darina celebrates not only Christmas but also the game season - and wider retail availability of game in Ireland - with an introduction to her favourite new book on game, which would make a great Christmas present for an adventurous cook.

The game season is in full swing and - although it always gives a wonderful sense of occasion to any meal, and especially for entertaining over the festive season - at last, game is losing its reputation as a luxury food, eaten only in grand country houses. Pheasant, snipe, wild duck (shovler, mallard, teal, widgeon), wood pigeon, partridge and woodcock are all in season.

Even if you don’t know a hunter, Marks and Spencer, as well as other supermarkets, butchers and farmers markets are beginning to sell game birds, one can experiment, escaping the tyranny of eternal chicken breast, farmed salmon and steak, the seemingly compulsory trinity of offerings on virtually every restaurant menu.

Now that pheasant and venison, at least, are more readily available, let’s become more adventurous. There’s so many more ways to cook game other than roasting and many more exciting accompaniments than gravy and bread sauce, much as I love them both.

Virtually every country has game so it’s worth checking out recipes from around the globe. Introduce other techniques, other flavours, and a variety of wild berries, spices, dried fruit, pickles and herbs.

My favourite new book on game was written by the chef and butcher team of Phil Vickery and Simon Boddy who wrote it with the express intention of introducing new ways to prepare cook and cure game.

It’s like a total breath of fresh air and, whereas they celebrate time-honoured traditions, it’s choc full of new recipes you’ll really want to cook and lots of excellent general knowledge about different type of game – plucking, hanging, seasons, how to prepare etc.

Here are a few recipes from "GAME, New Ways to Prepare, Cook and Cure" by Phil Vickery and Simon Boddy, with photos by Peter Cassidy. Published by Kyle Cathie.

Warm Roast Duck with Broccoli, Radishes & Anchovy

I know you’re thinking this sounds a bit odd, but trust me – it works. The balance here is between the saltiness of the dressing and the richness of the pink-cooked wild duck. Oddly enough, the intense fish flavour works well in this dish and has become a favourite of mine. It also goes well with roasted saddle of hare.

Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a starter
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes, plus resting

2 wild duck crowns, twin breasts on the bone, wishbones removed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 salted anchovy fillets, finely chopped or mashed to a paste
3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh tarragon
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
a pinch of sugar
15g (¾oz) rocket, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cold water
500g (18oz) broccoli, trimmed, leaving a few leaves – split any thick stalks so that all are about the same width
150g (5oz) radishes, finely sliced on the diagonal

Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas 7.

Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof frying pan.

Season the crowns inside and out with salt and pepper, then place skin side down in the hot oil and cook for 2–3 minutes until they start to colour. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the anchovies, herbs, extra virgin olive oil, sugar and salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk together.

Turn the duck skin side up and cook for a further 4–5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, cover loosely with foil and leave to rest in a warm place for at least 15 minutes.

Add the rocket to the anchovy dressing and mix well with the water.

Cook the broccoli in a saucepan of salted boiling water until just tender. Drain well and keep warm.

To serve

Arrange the warm broccoli evenly on four plates and sprinkle with the radishes.

Carefully slice down either side of the breastbone to remove the four breasts from the crowns and then slice each breast at an angle. Dab the cut duck meat on a piece of kitchen towel to remove any excess blood.

Lay the duck meat over and under the broccoli, then spoon over the dressing.

Super-succulent Pheasant Sauté with Soy, Mirin & Ginger

Velveting is used to keep delicate foods moist and velvety in texture. The food is coated with a mixture of egg white, cornflour and sometimes salt, with either a touch of sesame or vegetable oil. It is then put in the fridge for about 20–30 minutes to ensure that the coating adheres to the food.

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Ready in: 10-12 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients

1 medium egg white
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons cornflour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 hen pheasant breasts, boned, skinned, sinew removed and cut into 2cm cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
50g fresh ginger, peeled and finely sliced
1 small onion, finely sliced
4 pak choi, roughly shredded
4 tablespoons mirin
4 tablespoons soy sauce

Method

Put the egg white into a large bowl and break up slightly with a whisk. Add the sesame oil, cornflour, salt and pepper and mix well.

Add the cubed pheasant meat and mix well. Cover the bowl with Clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for 20–30 minutes.

Once the meat is rested, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a wok until smoking. Drain the meat well and fry in small batches for 1–2 minutes just to seal the meat. Remove from the pan and keep warm.

Wipe out the wok, then heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil until smoking. Add the ginger and onion and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes.

Add the pak choi and wilt slightly, then return the pheasant to the wok. Add the mirin and soy sauce and cook only briefly to bring all the flavours and textures together – do not overcook! Check the seasoning and serve straight away.

Rich Venison Sauce with Pappardelle

Pappardelle pasta is made for big, rich and delicious sauces like this. Once the meat is nicely browned, just simmer gently until you have a wonderfully coloured deep-flavoured sauce. Don’t rush it – just let it simmer away. It’s that simple!

Serves 4
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking: about 1 hour

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
500g (18oz) minced venison
300ml (10fl oz) red wine or port
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons tomato purée
10g (½oz) good-quality beef stock cube, crumbled
300ml strong game stock or chicken stock
400g (14oz) can chopped tomatoes in juice
4 tablespoons cold water
2 teaspoons cornflour, mixed with the water
salt and freshly ground black pepper
500g (18oz) cooked pappardelle pasta

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, add the onions and garlic and cook for 10 minutes until slightly browned.

Add the mince and break up well with a wooden spoon. Then cook over a high heat for a few minutes, stirring well, until all the moisture has evaporated and the meat and veg are starting to brown well.

Add the red wine or port and reduce right the way down until you have only about one-third of the original volume.

Next, add the oregano, tomato purée, beef stock cube, stock, tomatoes and their juice and water, bring to a simmer and cook gently for 35–40 minutes.

Stir in the cornflour mixture and cook until slightly thickened, then season well with salt and pepper.

Serve spooned over the warm pappardelle.

Hot Tip Bees are under threat around the globe from a variety of diseases – colony collapse, the varoa mite….beekeepers tell me that the pollen from ivy flowers help keep the bees healthy throughout the winter months so resist the temptation to pull down the ivy, remember its’ beneficial for the bees.
www.irishbeekeeping.ie

'30 Years at Ballymaloe' - Bord Gáis Avonmore Cookbook of the Year 2013

Good Food Ireland Cookery School of the Year 2012/2013

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Once again, the Ballymaloe Cookery School in East Cork has a great programme of cookery courses for all interests and abilities running throughout 2016. Ranging from a relaxing visit to sit in on an afternoon cookery demonstration to a week long ‘Intensive Introductory Course’.

Sitting in the middle of a 100 acre organic farm the Ballymaloe Cookery School provides its students not only with a life skill learnt under the expert tutelage of their very capable teachers but also a place to relax and unwind from the stresses and strains of normal everyday life. The cottage accommodation available onsite for residential courses consists of a collection of delightful converted outbuildings which have been transformed over the years by the Allens, and other accommodation is available locally for the short courses.

www.cookingisfun.ie