Pheasant Winter Salad

Who says you can’t have good salads in the winter? This seasonal treat is one I always go back to - perfect combination of rich flavours, paired with a sweet pear, and crunchy lettuce. Every game season I beat at our local shoot - which means I get to take home wonderful seasonal, local game. With an abundance of pheasants, I get to play in the kitchen and create new recipes whilst experimenting with flavours. Pheasant with blue cheese and walnut is a flavour combination I have loved for many years, but I wanted to try this blue cheese and pear salad with game birds and a crunch of nuts.

It’s very easy to put together and makes an excellent lunch option. I would advise to prep it fresh - although it can last in the fridge for a few hours without major changes, left overnight the pear discolours and turns an unappetising brown-ish hue.

My pick of blue cheese for this dish is Stilton however you can use any blue cheese you’d like - I would even say that the blue cheese, cream, and mustard mix we used for our pheasant pate earlier this week would be perfect to drizzle on top!

Feeds 4 as a starter, or 2 for a more substancial meal

You will need:

2 pheasant breasts

Peppercorns (small handful)

1 tbsp butter

2 cloves of garlic

Handful of walnuts to taste

1 Romaine or Little Gem lettuce

1 pear

150g blue cheese like Stilton

Squeeze of lemon juice

Tespoon of good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cracked black pepper to taste

Fry your pheasant breasts, after about 5 minutes in the pan add in the butter, peppercorns, and garlic. Baste the breasts in the butter and cook for a further 10-15 minutes on a low heat. Remove pheasant from pan and place to rest for 5 minutes or so.

In the same pan, toast your walnuts. Remove from pan, and set aside once they start to deepen in colour.

Wash and dry your lettuce. Slice into ribbons and add to a bowl. Take your pear and slice it into thin strips. Add to bowl. Take the pheasant breasts and slice these into thin strips - place on top of the pear and salad. Crumble on the blue cheese.

Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, and cracked black pepper to taste. Serve as a starter, or as a main with crunchy sourdough bread. If servind wine, pair this with a bold and buttery Chardonnay to go with the salty and strong flavour of blue cheese.

As I mentioned this is better served right away as the pear can discolour, but the taste remains the same if you have it the next day - I took it beating with me and it was delicious, plus my friends agreed after tasting a mouthful so next time I'll be sure to bring extras!

Pheasant and blue cheese salad on the field!

For a full cooking tutorial, you can check out my Instagram video here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DFPXrmJILmW/