Partridge on Grilled Bread with Mushrooms and Brandy

Serves: 1

Difficulty: Easy

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cooking Time: 25 mins

• 1 partridge, legs and breasts removed
• Sunflower oil
• 6 small chestnut mushrooms, finely sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• Black pepper
• 1 clove of garlic, very finely sliced
• 35g butter
• 1 small piece of white bread
• 50ml brandy
• 50 ml chicken stock
• juice of 1/3 of a medium lemon

To finish

• 15 g fridge-cold butter
• A little curly parsley, finely chopped
• Salt

Method

Preheat the grill to high.

Fry the mushrooms in a little sunflower oil with the bay leaf and a good grind of black pepper and when they begin to brown add the garlic and cook for a minute or so longer before removing from the pan and putting to one side.

Melt the butter with a small splash of sunflower oil. Season the partridge breasts and legs with some salt.

Put the partridge legs in the butter, skin side down and gently fry them for 5 minutes until golden brown.

Turn over the legs (to cook for another 6 minutes on this side).

Add the breasts skin side down, cooking them for three minutes on each side on each side until well coloured.

A few minutes before the meat is done, butter the bread thoroughly on both sides and place under the grill, turning once until well coloured.

Pour in the brandy and flame the partridge. Do not allow it to evaporate completely. Lift the bird to rest on the toast. Drop the mushrooms back into the pan. Add the stock and lemon juice and simmer quickly until you have about 3 tbsp of jus. Drop in the cold butter bit by bit stirring all the time until the sauce emulsifies.

Put the partridge on the grilled bread and pour over the sauce having checked the seasoning.

Scatter over the parsley and eat with a glass of red wine.