Jerusalem Artichokes soup

Soup of Jerusalem Artichokes with Wild Pheasant and Bacon

(serves 4)

INGREDIENTS

50g (2oz) salted butter
175g (6 oz) onions peeled and finely sliced
570ml (1 pint) chicken stock
450g (1 lb) Jerusalem artichokes peeled and finely sliced
a pinch of ground mace
570ml (1 pint) milk
2 pheasant breasts, skinned and flattened out a little
Meat from 2 pheasant legs, roughly chopped
half an egg white
salt and pepper
6 tbsp double cream
a slice of good local or Alsace bacon per serving

METHOD

For the soup:
In a large heavy based saucepan sweat off the onions in the butter until softened.
Add the stock, artichokes and mace, bring to the boil and simmer until the artichokes are softened. Add the milk, simmer for a few minutes longer and then remove from the heat. Liquidize until smooth and then pass through a sieve into another saucepan. Check soup for seasoning, adjust and then set aside, chilling it if not for immediate consumption.

Remove the fillets from the underside of each pheasant breast and set aside. Place the breasts between two pieces of cling film and bash gently with a rolling pin into a fairly thin and even rectangular shape and then set these aside.

Blitz the leg meat and the egg white in a food processor until smooth. (I like to push this through a sieve to remove any sinews). Place the pureed meat into a bowl and lightly season, then slowly add the cream, beating it in well as you go to a ‘dolloping’ consistency. Spoon half the puree along the centre of each flattened breast and place the retained fillets on top of this. Roll each flattened breast firmly around the puree to make a sausage and then roll these tightly in cling film and tie each end tightly with string. You can prepare ahead to this stage and chill until required.

Half an hour before you are ready to serve, place the ‘clingfilmed’ pheasant rolls into a steamer or a saucepan of boiling water and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Once cooked, the rolled breast should feel firm to the touch.

While the pheasant is cooking, cook the bacon until crisp under a hot grill or in a hot oven  and set aside. Remove the pheasant from the steamer or boiling water and allow to rest for a few minutes. Meanwhile gently re-heat the soup and spoon it into bowls.

Slice the pheasant ‘sausages’ while still in their cling film wrappers and then slip off the cling film as you arrange the slices on top of the soup. Top with a piece of crispy bacon and serve immediately.