Ballywalter Wellington surprise
These delicious individual pithiviers are packed with seasonal veg, pheasant and confit duck. Add a generous swig of whiskey, if you like. If you are going all out to impress, serve them with celeriac fondant, wilted chard and a whiskey and orange sauce, as James does in the programme.
Ingredients
For the beetroot duxelles
- 4 small-medium beetroot, washed, trimmed and cut into quarters
- 1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú butter
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú pancetta, diced
- 200g/7oz curly kale, tough stalks removed, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 orange, zest and juice only
- 5 tbsp Irish whiskey (optional)
For the pithivier
- 500g/1lb 2oz readymade shortcrust pastry
- 250g/9oz pheasant breast, cut into thin strips
- 200g/7oz readymade confit duck meat, shredded
- 2 rhubarb stems, thinly sliced into batons
- handful wild garlic (or 4 chard leaves with stems removed)
- 1 free-range egg, beaten to glaze
- sea salt and cracked black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Put the beetroot on a baking tray, pour over the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat in the oil and roast for 40–50 minutes, or until starting to soften (they should still be quite firm). Set aside to cool a little.
In a large saucepan over a medium heat, melt the butter then add the pancetta. Once the fat starts to render, add the kale, garlic and roasted beetroot. Fry for 10–15 minutes or until the pancetta is golden, the kale wilted and the beetroot softened. Then add the spices, orange juice and zest. Season with sea salt and black pepper.
Flambé the contents of the pan with whiskey (if using). Stir in the whiskey and allow to heat briefly, then slowly tilt the pan towards the flame, or light with a match. Let the flames flare up then die down. CAUTION: Keep your face and hair away from the flames. Do not leave unattended. Reduce the heat and gently fry for a further 5 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick and star anise and allow the mixture to cool.
Add the mixture to a food processor and pulse until it is the texture of a coarse pâté.
Roll out your pastry to the thickness of a pound coin and cut out four 12–15cm/4½–6in discs for the bases (about the diameter of a large teacup) and four 15–18cm/6–7in discs for the top sheets (about the size of a saucer). Place a layer of the cooled beetroot duxelles onto the centre of each pastry base leaving a strip clean around the circumference to seal the pasty together later.
Add strips of pheasant and rhubarb alternating to form a crisscross pattern. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Top this layer with a large spoonful of confit duck meat and finish the filling with a wild garlic leaf (or a chard leaf).
Cover the base with a pastry lid, press the edges to seal and trim into a neat circle. Make a small hole in the top for steam to escape. Gently score the pastry down the sides with a butter knife to decorate and brush with beaten egg to glaze. Bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes until the pastry is golden and the base is cooked. Serve hot.