Ballotine of Pheasant with Parmentier Potatoes, Carrot Puree and a la grecque Vegetables by David Cheng

2 Hours, Serves 2

• 1 x whole pheasant
• 10 x rashers streaky bacon
• 50g x chicken livers
• 2 x shallots
• 50g x chestnuts (pre-cooked)
• 10g x fresh breadcrumbs
• 10g x dried porchini (soaked)
• 4 x savoy cabbage leaves
• 1 x potato
• 2 x carrots
• 1 x salsify

1. Finely chop the shallots and sweat half down with seasoning, a little garlic, thyme and rosemary. Crisp up one rasher of bacon. Chop the porchini and add to the shallots, continue cooking with a little madeira on a low heat for five more minutes. Chop the chestnuts and bacon. Add this with the orange zest to the shallots. Cook for a minute or two more, take off the heat and add the breadcrumbs.
2. Take the meat off the pheasant carcass, butterfly the breasts and take the leg meat off the bone. The bones can be used for stock to ultimately make the sauce. Fill the breasts with porchini stuffing and wrap in three rashers of bacon per breast. Roll the breast in cling film to make a fat sausage. Cook in the Grant Sous Vide water bath for one hour at 64ºC.
3. Peel and chop one of the carrots. Sweat down in a little butter and seasoning. When starting to catch add a little cream and cover. Cook on a very low heat until the carrot is very soft. Blend.
4. Peel and dice the potato, blanch in boiling salted water.
5. Peel one of the carrots then ribbon it with the peeler and sweat down in plenty of olive oil and seasoning, add juniper berries, thyme and garlic. Finally add a splash of sherry vinegar and cover. Cook at a very low heat for five minutes, then drain.
6. Sweat down the other half of the shallots. Lightly blanch the cabbage leaves in boiling salted water. Blend the rest of the bacon, leg meat, seasoning and chicken livers together, then wrap this mix in a cabbage leaf and pull into a ball using cling film. Tie the cling film off and cook the faggots in the Grant Sous Vide water bath for twenty minutes at 64ºC.
7. When cooked, seal the pheasant breast in a hot pan to crisp up the outer surface of the bacon. This pan can then be used to colour off the potatoes. Carve the breast into three pieces and serve with the faggots, potatoes, carrot puree and a la greque vegetables.

David Cheng The Chequers, Orwell, Cambridgeshire

The Chequers Orwell is not only a beautiful country village pub, it is also a Gastro Pub restaurant with friendly environment and most importantly delicious food. The menu is affordable, interesting and short, passionate Chef Owner David Cheng and his team will make sure you have a great experience each time, from starters to desserts!

For our website click here

Chef Central is Sponsored by Grant Sous Vide