The beauty of this partridge pie is that it has a short crust pastry bottom and a puff pastry lid. I can’t bear it when you order a “pie” in a restaurant or pub and it doesn’t have a pastry bottom –very feeble. This is a great dish to make ahead and therefore the perfect shoot supper or lunch dish and we will need plenty of those in the coming months!
Partridge Pie
Serves 4-6
500g short crust pastry
500g puff pastry
4-6 partridges oven ready
Enough game or chicken stock to cover the partridges plus a little water
2 bay leaves
1 large onion cut into chunks
6 peppercorns
1 small bunch of fresh thyme. With some of the leaves stripped off to make up ½ tbsp reserved.
2 carrots, trimmed and peeled
1 large leek, trimmed and sliced into chunks
150g button mushrooms
1 medium sized onion, sliced
200g petit pois – frozen or fresh
Salt and pepper
50ml crème fraiche
2-3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp sunflower oil and a little butter
1tbsp freshly chopped flat leaf parsley
Egg wash:
1 egg yolk mixed with a little double cream
You will need a stock pot or large saucepan that fits in the oven and an oven proof dish to make the pie in.
Place the partridges bay leaves, onion chunks, peppercorns, the thyme on the stalks and carrots into a large stock pot and cover with the stock adding water if the stock is very concentrated. Bring to the boil for 5 minutes then transfer to the pre heated oven, 200c, for 45 minutes or until the partridges are cooked.
Remove the cooked birds from the liquor and reserve the stock. Skin the partridges and take the meat off the bone and shred it into strips. Set it aside. Strain the stock and pour it into a jug. Chop the carrot into slices and add to the meat.
Heat up the oil and butter in a large frying pan and fry the onions and mushrooms until soft and just starting to colour then add the leek and cook until soft. Add the flour to the vegetables and stir with a wooden spoon until all the flour is absorbed into the fat and slowly pour in the stock to make the gravy. You will only need about 500ml of stock reserve the rest for another dish. Bring it all up to the simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes until it thickens. Stir in the crème fraiche, petit pois, add the partridge, carrots, chopped parsley and thyme to the pan and season to taste. Set aside to go cool. Can be made up to this point a day ahead of time.
Line a pie dish with short crust pastry. Spoon the filling into the pastry lined dish.
Roll out the puff pastry and cover the pie firmly making an edge around the dish. Cut off any excess pastry. Make a slit in the top and brush with the egg wash. Bake the pie in a pre heated oven, 200c for 35-40 minutes. It should be golden and piping hot.
Tip:
I fell in love with the “dog lover” hamper from Daylesford Organic. It is the perfect gift to take to a dog obsessed house, and there will be plenty of those coming up this season – your hostess will love you for it not to mention the dog! www.daylefordorganic.com mail order 0800 0831233
This article by Amy Willcock appears in The
Shooting Gazette September 2009, and is reproduced here with permission.
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