Pot-roasted Partridge by Paul Welburn
 

Pot-roasted Partridge with Grapes, Gnocchi and Mushrooms by Paul Welburn

Paul Welburn, Chef Patron at The Cygnet at The Swan in Islip, created this fabulous recipe of pot-roasted partridge with grapes, gnocchi and mushrooms! It is flavourful, creamy comfort food with delightful bursts of freshness. Served in the pan for the ultimate oven-to-table dish it is perfect for sunny early-Autumn days. Herb gnocchi and some sautéed wild mushrooms complete the dish perfectly. Together with Great British Chefs this recipe is part of our celebration of all things game.

Partridge is delicate, tender and relatively quick as well as easy to cook. It benefits from being full flavoured but at the same time not tasting too ‘gamey’. Another great benefit is that each partridge is the perfectly sized portion, one per person is ideal. This recipe combines the ease of cooking partridge with an exciting and refreshing array of flavours in the accompaniment. We hope you enjoy!

We visited Paul at The Swan in early 2023… read about our amazing experience here.

Pot-roasted Partridge by Paul Welburn

Serves: 3

Time: 1 hour 40 mins plus 1 hour to bake potatoes


Equipment


Ingredients

Pot-roasted partridge with grapes

  • partridges
  • carrot, peeled and cut into quarters
  • onion, peeled and cut into quarters
  • 50ml of white wine
  • 250ml of chicken stock
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • 60ml of double cream
  • 1 handful of chopped parsley
  • 50g of grapes, halved (a mixture of white and black)
  • 1 handful of chopped tarragon
  • 1 dash of oil
  • 1 knob of butter
  • salt
  • pepper

Herb Gnocchi

  • 700g of floury potatoes
  • egg
  • egg yolk
  • 50g of flour
  • 1 tbsp of chopped parsley
  • 1 tbsp of chopped chives
  • 1 tbsp of chopped chervil
  • salt
  • pepper

Wild Mushrooms

  • 50g of chestnut mushrooms, quartered
  • 50g of girolles
  • 12g of butter
  • chopped parsley
  • 1/2 garlic clove

Cooking Method

For the gnocchi

  1. To begin, prepare the gnocchi. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
  2. Prick the potatoes all over and bake whole in the oven until the flesh is completely soft. While still hot, scoop the flesh out of the skins and pass through a potato ricer (or use a masher.)
  3. Mix the egg, egg yolk and flour in a bowl to combine, then lightly mix into the potato – do not over-mix. When just combined, add the herbs and roll into long logs measuring 2cm in diameter.
  4. Cut the logs into individual gnocchi and heat a large pan of water until almost boiling. Add a batch of the gnocchi and cook until they float to the surface – it’s best to do a smaller test batch at first to make sure you have enough flour in the mixture. If they don’t float, mix again with a sprinkling more flour and re-roll and cut.
  5. Drain and plunge into iced water to chill quickly. Repeat in batches with the remaining gnocchi. When all of the gnocchi have been cooked and chilled, place in the fridge until required.

For the partridge

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
  2. To cook the partridges, add a dash of oil and knob of butter to a large saucepan and allow to heat up. Once the butter is foaming, add the partridges and colour all over, until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  3. Add the carrots and onions to the same pan and cook until tender and golden. Deglaze with the white wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any residue.
  4. Add the chicken stock and thyme, return the birds to the pan and cover with a lid. Place in the oven for 25 minutes.
  5. Remove the partridges from the pan and allow to rest in a warm place. Add the cream to the pan and bring to the simmer. Season well, add the grapes and herbs and place the birds back in the pan. Keep warm.

To finish

  1. Add a dash of oil to a non-stick pan and when hot, add the gnocchi. Pan-roast on all sides until golden, then add to the pan with the partridges.
  2. Add a knob of butter to another non-stick pan and place over a medium-high heat. Add the garlic clove and mushrooms and roast for 1 minute until lightly golden. Stir in the parsley, season then sprinkle the mushrooms over the partridges.
  3. Serve in the pan at the table for everyone to dig in.

Great British Chefs

 

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