Serves 4 2 Granny Smith apples 4 pheasant breasts, weighing 140-175 g (5-6 oz) skinned and boned Freshly ground sea salt and freshly ground pepper 1 tablespoon sunflower oil 25 g (1 oz) butter 1 teaspoon icing sugar 16 vacuum-packed chestnuts 300 ml dry cider 300ml game, pigeon, pheasant or chicken stock 150 ml double cream 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh chervil or a mixture of parsley and a tinybit of tarragon A little lemon juice Roast potatoes to serve
Peel, core and quarter theapples. Season the pheasant breasts with salt and pepper. Heat alarge frying pan until it's nice and hot. Add the sunflower oil and halfthe butter to the hot pan. When the butter is foaming, add the pheasantbreasts and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, until lightly coloured. Remove them from the pan and keep warm on awarmed plate.
Add the rest of the butter and the apples to the pan, then sprinkle over theicing sugar and gently fry the apples for 3-4 minutes, until browned andglazed. Remove the apples from the heat and keep warm with the pheasantbreasts. Now add the chestnuts to the pan, increase the heat to high andstir until the chestnuts are coated with the butter from the pan. Add thecider and reduce until it's almost disappeared. Add the stock and againreduce, this time by about two-thirds. Add the cream and bring it back tothe boil. Return the pheasant breasts, the apples and any juices they have released tothe pan. Warm everything through for 2-3 minutes. Add a tablespoonof the chopped herbs and season the sauce with salt and lemon to taste. To serve, distribute the roast potatoes between four warmed servingplates. Place a pheasant breast on each plate and spoon over the appleand chestnuts. Pour the sauce over and sprinkle with the other tablespoonof herbs.
