This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
Pheasant breasts with orange, apricot & bacon
Ingredients serves 2
2 skinless pheasant breasts
1 fresh apricot (or two dried)
8 rashers of streaky bacon (you could also use prosciutto)
4 fresh thyme sprigs
Knob of butter
2 tbsp olive oil
50g watercress
For the sauce
Zest and juice two oranges
1″ cinnamon stick (or tsp ground)
Tsp honey
3 tbsp soy sauce
How to prepare
Cut each pheasant in half across the middle, lengthways so that you have 4 thin slithers of breast. Cut the apricots in the same way. Lay out 3 overlapping slices of bacon and place a sprig of thyme on top. Pop a piece of breast on top of this and lay 3 pieces of apricot on top of the breast. Season with salt and pepper, then wrap the prosciutto tightly around the pheasant to form a parcel. Wrap a 4th piece of bacon lengthwise to hold it all together. Repeat with the remaining pheasant strips to make 4 parcels. You can make these the day before and chill overnight.
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan over a high flame and add the butter and 1 tbsp oil. When the fats are sizzling, add the pheasant parcels and cook for 3-4 mins on each side until the bacon is crisp and golden.
Pop the breasts onto a baking tray and roast in the oven for 5-7 mins to finish cooking. Meanwhile, add the zest and juice from the 2 oranges, cinnamon, honey and soy to the pan juices and simmer to reduce until syrupy. Toss the watercress with the remaining oil and a squeeze of orange juice. Serve the pheasant parcels with the orange sauce, watercress and rice. I garnished my rice with chervil, my new fave herb that I grow in a pot outside my kitchen window.
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE ON BBC GOOD FOOD WEBSITE 2009
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