Pheasant breast à l’orange with dried apricots & prosciutto
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Pheasant breast à l’orange with dried apricots & prosciutto

By Thomasina Miers

Contains pork – recipe is for non-Muslims only
This sophisticated recipe is full of bold and interesting flavours, perfect for a romantic evening in

  • Prep:15 mins
    Cook:20 mins
  • Serves 2
  • More effort

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 549
  • fat 26g
  • saturates 9g
  • carbs 21g
  • sugars 21g
  • fibre 2g
  • protein 57g
  • salt 6.51g

Ingredients

  • 2 skinless pheasant breasts
  • 6 plump, juicy dried apricots
  • 12 rashers thinly sliced prosciutto or streaky bacon
  • 4 thyme sprigs
  • knob of butter
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 50g watercress
  • squeeze of orange juice
  • zest and juice 2 oranges
  • 1in cinnamon stick (or 1 tsp ground)
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce

Tip

Perfect wild rice
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Wash 140g mixed wild and basmati rice in cold water. Gently soften 2-3 finely chopped shallots and 1 finely chopped garlic clove in 25g butter in a small ovenproof pan, then add the rice and stir-fry for a few mins. Season with salt and pepper, add 400ml hot chicken stock and simmer, covered, over low heat, until almost all water is absorbed – about 10 mins. Cover with 2 old butter papers or buttered baking parchment and finish in the oven for 10 mins.

Method

  1. 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 prosciutto or 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. Repeat with the remaining pheasant, prosciutto and apricot to make 4 parcels. You can make these the day before and chill overnight.

  2. 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 prosciutto is crisp and golden. The heat from the pan will seal the prosciutto tightly around the pheasant breast.

  3. 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.

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