September Newsletter

FROM THE KITCHEN

At Finzean we have Pheasants, Partridges and Ducks at the Farm Shop, all sourced from our own shoot and prepared by Hedge & Sanjay for you to enjoy. If you’d like a whole bird kept aside for you to pluck yourself, please let us know and we would happily supply them to you - in store, we typically have packs of Breast fillets that are perfect for this recipe.

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Tandoori Partridge

Recipe by Chef Sanjay, Finzean Farm Shop

Partridge are wonderful game birds, though sadly have a reputation for being easy to overcook and dry out when roasted whole. Quick grilling of individual breasts like in this recipe makes it easier to keep the meat juicy and tender.

This recipe just uses the breasts, though the same marinade could be applied to the chicken legs, or to a whole bird! This works well with pheasant and quail too, though we’d recommend chopping the pheasant breasts into smaller chunks for quicker cooking. Any leftovers make a fine addition to a curry.

You can remove the fresh chilli, if you prefer less heat.

Serves 4 as a hearty starter, or light main course.

INGREDIENTS

50ml Rapeseed Oil, plus extra to drizzle

4 cloves Garlic,

2” piece of Ginger

1 Fresh Chilli, green or red

2 tbsp Medium Curry Powder

1 tbsp Garam Masala

½ tbsp Chilli Powder

½ tbsp Fine Salt or to taste

8 Partridge Breasts, skinned (or 4 skinless pheasant breasts, chopped in half)

METHOD

In a blender, combine the oil, garlic, ginger and chilli. Blend to a smooth, thick paste, adding more oil slowly if required. Add in the spices and salt, and blend till well mixed. Transfer the marinade to a mixing bowl, and add the partridge breasts. Mix well with your hands, ensuring they are well coated. Transfer to the fridge, and chill for up to 72 hours.

To Cook

If using a BBQ, make sure to lightly oil the grills to ensure the partridge doesn’t stick. Grill for 3 minutes per side, turning once during cooking. Rest for 1 minute after cooking.

If using an oven, preheat it to the max temperature (with grill on) that it will go to - 250-300C. Place the partridge breasts well spread out on a foil lined baking sheet, and drizzle a touch of oil over them. Bake for 6-7 minutes, ensuring the marinade chars a little but doesn’t burn. Rest for 1 minute after cooking.

Storage

The marinated meat can be stored in the fridge for 3 days. Once cooked, the breasts can be reheated gently in the microwave, though they won’t be as good as fresh.

You can freeze the marinated meat, and defrost and cook anytime!

FARM NEWS

Looking back on last month’s newsletter, we thought harvest would be difficult this year and so it has proved! As we write this, we still have 50 acres of barley to cut which is all undersown with grass.

The grass seed is sown just after the barley seed in April, which allows for a fresh crop of grass the following spring - really sowing two crops at the same time.

This is fine during a dry harvesting period, but this year, all the wet weather means the crop takes longer to dry out, particularly as the grass is practically the same height as the barley! We’ve had to harvest in October before and it looks like we’re heading that way again.

The calving is going well, with the odd cow needing assistance due to a big calf or the calf coming the wrong way, but on the whole relatively straightforward.