Special Occasions Recipes - Roast Pheasant Flambéed with Calvados Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 2 oven-ready pheasants

• 2 small onions, halved

• 50 g/2 oz butter

• 4 sharp-flavored dessert apples, peeled,

• cored and thickly sliced

Sauce:

• 25 g/1 oz plain flour

• 300 ml/1/2 pint dry white wine

• 4 tablespoons Calvados

• 125 ml/4 fl oz double cream

• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

• salt and pepper

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Method:

1. Place the pheasants in a roasting tin. Tuck the onion halves under the birds and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Dot with the butter and place in a preheated oven, 190°C (375°F), Gas Mark 5. Roast for about 45 minutes, or until the pheasants are cooked through and tender.

2. Add the apples to the tin 15-20 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Remove the pheasants from the roasting tin and transfer to a warmed serving dish. Place the apple slices in a separate dish and keep them hot while making the Calvados sauce.

3. Stir the flour into the pan juices and cook over a moderate heat for 1 minute. Stir in the wine and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Remove from the heat.

4. Heat the Calvados in a small saucepan until it is just warm, set it alight and then, when the flames die down, add it to the sauce. Stir in the double cream and chopped parsley and adjust the seasoning to taste, then reheat the sauce without boiling.

5. Pour a little of the sauce around the pheasants and arrange the apples in the dish. Serve the pheasants immediately with the remaining sauce served separately.