Roast Partridge with Ginger & Soy Brussels Sprouts
by Bruno Loubet from Mange Tout (Ebury)
Photography: Jonathan Lovekin
Brussels sprouts carry a stigma! Many people remember school dinners served with overcooked sprouts, which were an unattractive brown colour and smelt like wet dogs. They do not need to be like that. In this recipe, I give sprouts an Asian twist, which is great with the light, gamey flavour of the partridge.
Serves 6
Ingredients
100g butter
6 oven-ready partridges
600g Brussels sprouts, trimmed and finely sliced
200g small turnips, peeled and finely sliced
100g shallots, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
4 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp elderflower cordial
400ml veal or dark chicken stock
30g butter
50ml olive oil
30g fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped
50ml soy sauce
Salt and black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C fan/180C/Gas 6.
Heat the butter in a large casserole until foaming. Add the partridges and brown lightly on each side, then transfer to a roasting tin and place in the oven for about 8 minutes, turning them from one side to the other then on to their backs. Remove from the oven and leave to rest breast-side down in the tin.
Steam the Brussels sprouts and turnips for about a minute, just to soften them slightly, or plunge them into boiling salted water for 30 seconds, then drain.
Lift the partridges out of the roasting tin and place on a warm dish covered with foil. Discard some of the fat from the tin, leaving just a little in which to colour the shallots, garlic and thyme. Place the tin over a medium heat, and add the shallots, garlic & thyme.
When coloured, pour in the vinegar and cordial, increase the heat and bring to a vigorous boil, then add the stock, scraping the bottom of the tin with a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan and extract all the partridge residue. Pour the liquid into a smaller saucepan then add an ice cube (see Bruno’s Tips), bring to the boil, skim the surface, and boil until reduced to a nice sauce consistency. You should get about 150ml of sauce.
Pass the sauce through a fine sieve, then return to the pan and bring back to the boil. Stir in the butter. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a wok over a high heat and add the Brussels sprouts, turnips and the ginger. Stir well for 30 seconds, then add the soy sauce, lower the heat to medium and cook for 3 minutes.
You can serve the partridges on the bone with the Brussels sprouts next to it and the juice all over, or bone them and place them on top of the sprouts with the sauce over and around them.
Bruno’s Tips
Placing ice cubes in a sauce will help you to ‘clean’ it as the ice cubes make the fat rise so that it is easier to skim off.
Drinks tasted on air, alongside the drinks:
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