Grouse breasts with a potato rosti, roasted plums & bacon
An ideal dish for young grouse breasts early in the season.
Ingredients
- 6 Grouse breasts
- 250 ml chicken stock or game stock
- 1 tbsp plum sauce
- 4 plums halved and de-stoned
- 1 tbsp clear honey
- 4 Maris piper potatoes
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 200 grams purple sprouting broccoli
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 4 rashers smoked streaky bacon
- 75 grams butter
- salt and pepper
- vegetable oil
Instructions
- Make the potato rostis in advance. Preheat the oven to 180°C.Peel and grate the potatoes using a coarse cheese grater. Squeeze the peeled potatoes in a tea towel over the sink to remove excess water until you dry. Place into a mixing bowl, add the thyme leaves and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Heat a solid frying pan over a medium heat and add a splash of vegetable oil followed by 50g butter. As the butter melts and starts to foam, divide the potato mix into 4 flat cakes. Put the potato cakes in the pan and cook for 6 minutes, or until golden, on one side, then turn and cook for further 5 minutes on the other side. Transfer the rostis onto a baking tray.
- Place the halved plums in a tight-fitting baking tray, add the honey and a little oil and roast in a hot oven at 180°C for 8 minutes.
- Remove the grouse breasts from the fridge to reach room temperature. Place a frying pan on a medium high heat. Add a light splash of oil and fry the bacon on both sides until crispy. Remove the bacon, reserve the pan juices, and keep the bacon warm.
- Return the pan to the heat and season the grouse breasts with salt and pepper. Place in the breasts skin side down in the pan and cook on a medium high heat for 3 minutes. Turn the breasts over and add the remaining butter and rosemary in. Baste the breasts as the butter foams for 2 minutes. Remove breasts from pan and allow to rest in a warm place.
- To assemble dish, add the roasted plums to the warm sauce. Slice the grouse breasts in half. Plate each dish with a rosti, broccoli portion, three grouse slices and drizzle with sauce over the top. Divide the plum pieces among the dishes. To finish, add a rasher of crisp bacon and serve straight away.