Nick Coiley’s Seasonal Game Recipes
Autumn is now well and truly here and it's a fantastic season for combining the acidic flavours of autumn fruits and berries with the rich comfort of game. There is also a lot to accompany these dishes with leafy vegetables, beetroot, creamy squash and of course wild mushrooms at their best. I love the huge variety of Devon apples available from growers and at farmers markets at the moment, such a diverse range of textures and flavours. There are also quinces, medlars and autumn raspberries to indulge in. At the restaurant we are busy preserving all this harvest, making fruit vinegars, chutneys, jellies, jams and quince cheese. We get quite a lot of game in the form of the usual pheasant, partridge and venison but also the occasional hare, wild rabbit, wild duck and woodcock. Autumn also marks the start of our epic Christmas pudding production and we will be hand mixing over 300 this year in small batches to serve and sell in the restaurant and from the kitchen shop. Once again, the larders are full!
Nick Coiley
PIGEON BREAST SALAD WITH SMOKED BACON AND A BEETROOT & RASPBERRY VINEGAR DRESSING
2 rashers streaky bacon 6 pigeon breasts, trimmed of sinew
For the Pigeon breast marinade: zest & juice 1
/2 orange
2 tbsp port Bunch rosemary & thyme, chopped 50 ml olive oil 4 juniper berries, crushed
44 | THE WESTCOUNTRY FOODLOVER
For the beetroot dressing 1 medium beetroot, peeled & finely diced, from raw, blanch carefully until just tender
1 tsp grain mustard 1
/4 garlic twist
100 ml olive oil 25 ml raspberry vinegar Chopped rosemary & thyme
1 Mix the ingredients together.
2 Mix the herbs and liquids in a bowl to make the marinade and add the trimmed pigeon breasts. Leave for 2-3 hours.
3 Fry the bacon on a hot skillet until crispy. Remove and put to one side.
4 Make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients together well.
clove garlic, chopped finely, use a
5 Add a little butter and olive oil to the skillet. Remove the pigeon breast from the
/2
TOP TIP This dish can be
nicely garnished with blanched citrus peel sliced thinly
marinade, season and lightly flour with a flour dredger. Pan-fry rare for 1 1
minutes each side.
6 Remove to rest and add a little stock to the skillet.
7 Finish with raspberry vinegar, the beetroot dressing and a few knobs of butter.
8 Serve the pigeon breast sliced and arranged in a serving ring on a pile of dressed salad leaves. Put the bacon on top, spoon the beetroot around the plate and pour the dressing over the top.
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