A refined game dish with tender partridge, fried mushrooms and a creamy sauce with shallot, thyme and a dash of cognac or armagnac. Delicious with a creamy risotto or pasta, but also perfect as a starter with a piece of crusty bread.
Serves 4–6
Ingredients
- 500 g partridge breast, possibly supplemented with the legs
- 350 ml white wine
- 700 g mixed mushrooms, such as shiitake, chestnut mushrooms or oyster mushrooms
- 75 g shallot, finely chopped
- 1 spring onion
- 50 g butter or olive oil
- 2 tsp fresh thyme
- 100 ml cognac or armagnac
- 200 g crème fraîche
- 100 g Greek yogurt
- 2 handfuls of baby spinach or regular spinach
- Salt and pepper
- Cayenne pepper to taste
Optional for the confit partridge legs: sunflower oil, a dash of olive oil and 2 bay leaves.
Preparation
1. Let the wine reduce
Let the white wine reduce slowly until about 150 ml remains. Then set aside for a while.
2. Prepare
the partridge Cut the partridge breasts into strips about 1 cm thick and set them aside. If you also want to use the legs, you can confit them in oil for about 2 hours at about 80°C, together with two bay leaves.
3. Fry the mushrooms
Tear or cut the mushrooms into coarse pieces. Fry them without fat on a high heat first, until most of the moisture has evaporated. Then add the butter or olive oil and the finely chopped shallot and fry a little more.
4. Make the sauce
Deglaze the mushrooms with cognac or armagnac and let the alcohol evaporate. If you want, you can also flambé the drink. Meanwhile, mix the crème fraîche with the Greek yogurt, fresh thyme and finely chopped spring onion. Add this mixture to the mushrooms together with the reduced white wine and simmer gently for about 5 minutes.
5. Cook the partridge
Add the strips of partridge to the sauce and let them simmer for a few minutes, until the meat is just cooked and still nice and tender. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper if desired.
6. Add
the spinach For regular spinach, remove the thicker stems first. You can use baby spinach right away. Add about two handfuls of spinach and let it shrink briefly in the warm sauce.
Serve
Serve the partridge in creamy mushroom sauce with a creamy risotto or pasta. As a starter, you can serve a smaller portion with a piece of crusty bread, ideal for soaking up the last sauce.
