Tom Kitchin recipes: Pigeon, partridge and venison

The owner of Michelin-starred Edinburgh restaurant The Kitchin, takes on big game and small game

Open partridge and pancetta toasties with onion compote

Who doesn’t love a toastie? This open partridge toastie is my way to take the toastie experience to a whole new level. I love to serve it with an onion compote, which brings a lovely natural sweetness to the dish. Don’t be shy to experiment and add other ingredients to give this recipe your own personal touch.

Serves 4

4 partridge breasts, skinned
Olive oil
Butter for spreading
4 sourdough bread slices
2 hard-boiled free-range eggs, sliced
8 pancetta rashers, cooked until crispy
Watercress sprigs
4 slices cheddar cheese – my cheese of choice for this recipe comes from the Isle of Mull but any strong cheddar would do
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

For the onion compote

50g butter
Oive oil
2 white onions, sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tsp thyme leaves

The onion compote is ready to use as soon as it is made, or it can be stored in a covered container in the fridge for up to three days. Heat a well-seasoned sauté or frying pan with a lid over a medium-high heat, then add the butter with a splash of oil. When the butter is foaming, add the onions, garlic and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Cover with a wet piece of greaseproof paper, cover the pan with the lid, turn the heat to very low and leave the onions to sweat for 20-25 minutes until they are very tender. Transfer to a plate and set aside to cool.

When you’re ready to cook, preheat the grill to high. Meanwhile, place a partridge breast in between 2 sheets of clingfilm and use a meat mallet or rolling pin to lightly bash until flattened. Repeat with the remaining breasts. Pat the breasts dry and season them all with salt and pepper. Heat a well-seasoned sauté or frying pan over a medium-high heat, then add a splash of oil. When it’s hot, add the breasts and sear them for 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked through, then set aside to rest for 5 minutes covered with kitchen foil. Fry the breasts in batches, if necessary.

Toast the sourdough slices on both sides under the grill, then lightly butter each. Do not turn off the grill. Spread the pieces of toast with the onion compote and add the egg slices. Top with the partridge breasts, crispy pancetta, watercress and finally the cheese. Place the toasties under the grill until the cheese melts, then lightly season with salt and cracked pepper.

Venison sausage stew

This recipe is a bit of a family favourite. To my mind, it is a perfect mid-week supper, so when you have a bit of spare time make and freeze a batch, ready for a rainy day. I always enjoy cooking this dish with lovely root vegetables and apple, as the combination is unbeatable with the venison sausages. I also often serve this with a bowl of tagliatelle.

Serves 4

Olive oil
8 venison sausages
50g smoked lardons
200g celeriac, peeled and chopped
100g leeks, trimmed, chopped and rinsed
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp tomato purée
30g plain flour
250ml full-bodied red wine
5 juniper berries, crushed
250ml game stock or beef stock
1 bouquet garni
2 green apples
200g cooked chestnuts, halved
Hot tagliatelle to serve (optional)
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Heat a flameproof casserole over a medium-high heat, then add a good splash of oil. When it is hot, add the sausages and stir for 3 minutes, or until they are well-coloured all over, then remove from the casserole and set aside.

Add a splash more oil to the casserole, if necessary, then add the lardons and sauté until they have rendered their fat and are well coloured. Add the celeriac, leeks, carrots, celery, onion and tomato purée, and continue sautéing for a further 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute to cook out the raw flavour.

Add the wine and juniper berries, stirring to deglaze the pan, and boil until the wine reduces by half. Add the stock and bouquet garni, then return the sausages and any accumulated cooking juices to the casserole. Cover the casserole and leave to simmer over a medium heat for 20 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender and the flavours blended.

Meanwhile, halve, core and chop the green apples.

Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary, then stir in the chestnuts and apples and warm through. Serve with fresh tagliatelle flavoured with freshly cracked black pepper.

Roast pigeon and cherry sauce

Sometimes we chefs forget how difficult it is to make sauces at home. In our restaurants, of course, we have access to all the lovely stocks and sauces. However, this sauce is restaurant quality but easy to make at home. It is a great sauce to go with the pigeon and cherries work incredibly well with the mild gamey flavour of the pigeon. If you can’t get hold of fresh cherries, marinated ones work fine, too.

Serves 4

4 oven-ready wood pigeons, with the wishbones removed
4 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
4 rosemary sprigs
4 thyme sprigs
Olive oil
100g butter, plus an extra knob for finishing
200ml full-bodied red wine
50ml port or kirsch
350ml game stock or chicken stock
200g cherries, stoned
300g wilted spinach, hot, to serve
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C. Season the pigeons all over and in the cavities with salt and pepper, then divide the garlic, rosemary and thyme among the cavities. Truss the legs together with kitchen string.

Heat 2 large well-seasoned, ovenproof sauté or frying pans over a medium-high heat, then add a good splash of olive oil. When it is hot, add the pigeons and colour all over for 3 minutes. Add the butter and when it is foaming, baste the birds.

Transfer the pans to the oven and roast the pigeons for 6 minutes, which should give you pink meat. Remove the pans from the oven, un-truss the birds and tip the juices from all the cavities into one of the pans, then set the birds aside to rest, covered with kitchen foil, while you finish the recipe.

Remove the excess fat from the pan, then return it to the heat. Add the wine and port, stirring to deglaze the pan, and boil until the liquid evaporates. Add the game stock and continue boiling to reduce it by half, then stir in the cherries. Reduce the heat and simmer until they are soft. Swirl in the knob of butter, then adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary.

Serve the roasted pigeons with cherry sauce and the wilted spinach alongside.

‘Meat & Game’ by Tom Kitchin. Published by Bloomsbury, £26