Charlotte Pike

Recipes

Pheasant, Leek and Tarragon Pie

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This is a delicious pie, with a rich and creamy sauce, but plenty of freshness from the leeks and tarragon. It was published in the Easter Edition of Countryman’s Weekly, and my postbag has been positively bulging with emails from those of you who have enjoyed making this recipe. So, please do enjoy and tell me if you make it!

Pheasant, Leek and Tarragon Pie

Charlotte Pike

This is a delicious pie, with a rich and creamy sauce, but plenty of freshness from the leeks and tarragon.

Serves 4, generously

Ingredients

600g pheasant breasts, trimmed of fat and any shot

50g butter

4 large leeks, cut into 1cm thick slices

Sea salt and black pepper

200ml chicken stock

200ml double cream

Leaves from 5 sprigs fresh French tarragon

1 x 375g (appx) sheet ready rolled all butter puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

 

Method

Cut the pheasant breast into large strips or chunks.  Melt half of the butter in a large non-stick frying pan, and add the pheasant. Cook for around 4 minutes to lightly brown the meat. Set aside, add the rest of the butter to the pan, and add the leeks. Cook over a moderate heat for around 15 minutes, until the leeks are softened, but not coloured. Add the pheasant back into the pan and season well with salt and pepper.

Next, add the stock and cream, stir well and simmer gently for another 5-10 minutes until slightly thickened. Transfer the pie filling to a pie dish and set aside to cool. The dish I use is 25x12cm.

Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas Mark 5. Roughly chop the tarragon leaves and stir through the pie filling. Top with the pastry sheet and brush that with beaten egg. Cut a cross or make a whole in the middle of the pastry sheet to allow the steam to escape. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is a rich brown and well risen.

I like to serve this with lots of green vegetables. The sauce is thinner than some pies and therefore coats the vegetables nicely. Potatoes can be served with the pie too, if you like.

Smoked Haddock Kedgeree

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Smoked Haddock Kedgeree

Charlotte Pike

Having tried dozens of kedgeree recipes, I think this one is the best. It’s rich, spicy and surprisingly complex in flavour and adapted from the recipe in Leith’s Fish Bible. Make sure you taste and adjust the seasoning once everything is assembled, as I think it often needs a bit more salt at the very end.

Serves 4

Ingredients

250g Basmati rice (use white or brown, but white is much quicker to cook)

125g butter

1 medium white onion, peeled and finely chopped

5cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated

1 large green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

2 large whole fillets natural smoked haddock, skin removed and cut into 3cm chunks

1 heaped tsp turmeric

1 heaped tsp good quality curry powder (choose your preferred heat)

Sea salt

Lemon wedges to serve

Fresh coriander to serve (optional)

 

Method

 

Start by boiling the rice according to pack instructions.

Whilst the rice is cooking, place half of the butter into a separate large frying pan and melt over a moderate heat. Add the onion and cook for around 5 minutes, until it softens and becomes translucent. Be sure to keep the heat under control so that the onion does not colour.

Then, add the ginger, chilli and fish and cook for a further 5 minutes. The fish will start to cook in the butter.

Put the eggs on to boil in a separate pan. Bring to the boil and cook for 7 minutes, then drain.

Add the spices to the pan with the fish, and stir fry to cook the spices. Continue to cook until the fish is cooked though. It will flake into smaller pieces as it cooks, so stir gently so as not to break it up completely.

By this time, the Basmati rice should be cooked. Spoon the rice into the pan with the fish and add the rest of the butter. Stir gently, but thoroughly, to ensure the rice is evenly coated in the spicy butter.

Peel the eggs now and cut them in half. Give the kedgeree a final stir, season and adjust accordingly. It may need a bit more salt, it may need a bit more butter if it’s on the dry side, or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Serve on warmed plates with more lemon wedges and fresh coriander for some extra colour.

Homemade sausage rolls

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This is a very flexible recipe. Good quality sausage meat makes an excellent filling, and it is pre-seasoned, too. You can add extra flavours to the meat if you wish, such as dried chopped fruit, maybe apricots, or fresh herbs, such as sage. Try a sprinkling of sesame seeds on top of the pastry for an extra layer of flavour. I often do half and half.

Good quality sausage meat and all butter pastry make all the difference here.

Make large sausage rolls for lunch or a picnic, or mini sausage rolls to serve with drinks. Either way, I promise you they’ll be gone in a flash.

Homemade sausage rolls

Charlotte Pike

Makes 8-10

Ingredients

450g free range sausage meat (do buy pre-seasoned from your butcher)

300g ready rolled all butter puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

 

Method

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Gas Mark 4.

On a floured work
surface, unfurl the pastry, and cut lengthways into 
two long, even rectangles. Roll the sausage mixture into sausage shapes with your hands and lay along the centre
 of each rectangle. Fold one side of the
 pastry over, wrapping the filling inside. Press down with your fingers or the edge of a spoon to seal. Cut 
the long rolls into the sizes you want and space them out on a baking tray. Brush with the beaten egg and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until puffed, golden and cooked through. Serve hot, perhaps with some tomato relish on the side.