River Barle

January 24, 2013

Photo by Dan James

Recipe: Roasted pheasant breast with Somerset cider and colcannon

January 23, 2013January 23, 2013

Jack Scarterfield, chef at The Culbone, who is also one of the owners, has kindly sent us this recipe.

Born in Bath, Jack’s journey in search of excellent produce has taken him all over the world. He returned to Somerset to share his passion with you. The fabulous cooking skills (and secrets) of Jack Scarterfield can now be yours!

“I love the game season on Exmoor. We are surrounded by stunning produce from pheasants to wild rabbits, beautiful venison that you can see running through the moor and delicate sweet partridge which is my favourite at the moment. It’s not just the great game I have on the door step that excites me, it’s all the lovely hearty seasonal veg that goes with it, local foraged wild mushrooms, truffles, curly kale and wild berries all great friends with most of the game.”

Roasted pheasant breast with Somerset cider and colcannon

Serves 4

2 whole pheasants, breast removed, skin left on

4 peeled, boiled and mashed Maris piper potatoes

2 large handfuls of very finely sliced curly kale

1 large onion studded with 6 cloves

2 bay leaves

1 stick of celery

1 carrot

200ml double cream

Half pint Somerset cider (we use Thatcher’s)

50 g cold diced butter

Seasoning

Method

First make your sauce by roasting the pheasant legs and carcass for 30 mins to give flavour and colour. Then add to a large sauce pan with the celery, carrot, onion and bay, cover with water and boil for one hour. Drain off the stock discarding the bones and the veg, reduce stock for a further 20 mins, then add cider and cream. Reduce again by half and put to one side.

To cook your pheasant you will need a non-stick pan on medium heat. Brush the pheasant with olive oil and season well with salt and cracked black pepper. Place skin side down into the pan and cook for 4 mins until gold brown, then turn over and switch off the heat.

To finish your dish, warm up your mash adding the kale – the heat from the mash will be enough to cook the kale. Season and place into a warm serving bowl.

Warm up the sauce, whisking in the cold diced butter to thicken, add the pheasant to finish cooking for one minute and serve on top of the colcannon.

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The Culbone
Porlock
Minehead
TA24 8JW

Tel 01643 862 259

www.theculbone.com

click here to email The Culbone

Directions

The Culbone is situated on the A39 between Porlock and Lynmouth. We are the Highest Restaurant on the whole of Exmoor, so the driving experience is breathtaking with dramatic scenery. We look forward to welcoming you.

Guest blog: Exmoor House at Wheddon Cross – Snowdrop Valley

January 23, 2013January 23, 2013

Snowdrop Valley 2013, Wheddon Cross, Exmoor, Somerset

Would you like to do something really special in February? How about a visit to Snowdrop Valley? It’s about a mile and a half from where we are and – as the name might suggest – is a place to see a host of snowdrops in a natural setting.
The snowdrops carpet the woodland floor and cover the banks of the river Avill, which flows through the valley. It’s a lovely, magical place at any time of year, whether or not it is the snowdrop season. You can walk from our place via a number of different routes, the quickest being straight down the winding path to

the valley and back up again (aerobic exercise guaranteed; sensible footwear essential).At snowdrops time, there is a park & ride bus service from Wheddon Cross, organised by our Parish Council. Parking is in the village car park (next to the pub), where there’s also a special information point with people to give directions and advice. The narrow road to Snowdrop Valley is closed during this time (otherwise there might be traffic problems as it’s single track and there are no passing places). So, you need to either walk or get the bus in order to see the snowdrops (people with disabilities can make special arrangements). In 2013 the park & ride operates from 2nd to 24th February and the road remains closed for an extra week after this.For more details, including a bus timetable, an information leaflet to download and regular updates, visit the Wheddon Cross snowdrops page

Book dinner, bed and breakfast at Exmoor House and make a few days of it. You could stay over Valentine’s Day for a really romantic break (we’ll even order champagne and local chocolates for you if you like!).

As usual, we’ll be opening our lovely guest dining room (which has a great view of Dunkery Beacon, and by the way was once the village tailor’s shop) as a tea room for the whole of Snowdrop Valley season. Frank’s scones have become legendary and there’s a good choice of more substantial food too (e.g. mega ploughman’s lunches, hot soup, sandwiches. Everything is of course home-made, including all our bread. Home-smoked chicken and real corned beef are two popular sandwich fillings…

The West Somerset Railway’s Snowdrops and Steam excursion was such a success last year that they’re running it on more dates this time. Find more information at their website.

If you are doing the train trip and would like to have lunch here at Exmoor House, it may be advisable to book, especially if there are four or more of you.

To see more of Rosi’s Snowdrop Valley photos, pop over to Facebook.

For more information on Exmoor Hourse, go to www.exmoorhotel.co.uk