Stephen Harris – The Sportsman

Rose Prince recommended this book to me earlier this year, so I rushed out and bought it and was not disappointed.  Stephen is a self-taught, Michelin Star chef producing food to die for and a bag full of stories to tell about what it takes to get there, to get anywhere.  I like the titles in the book; ‘Learning to Cook’, ‘Becoming a Chef’, ‘A style of My Own’.  They describe a journey of many challenges and revelations and although I’ve never met him, I’ve certainly warmed to him through these stories and in turn been inspired to continue up my own mountain, the one which each self-taught chef or cook has to climb.

Of course, there are so many cookbooks available, cuisines to adopt, styles to adapt, that it’s easy to get confused.  Having dipped into the many and varied dishes and flavours of the Mediterranean and Middle east over the last ten years, I thought it would be refreshing to get back home and back to, as Stephen says, ‘the taste of Kent’.  I’ve never been to Kent, I have now.

I don’t seem to eat that much these days, so the old groaning boards of multiple mezze dishes are losing their appeal.  Don’t get me wrong, they are great for great occasions, but for a simple gathering, I like the idea of simplicity but with boldness and skill attached.  Talking of simple occasions, we had a bunch of friends to stay at the weekend, mates from my old grammar school, some of whom I hadn’t seen for 45 years, some of whom weren’t even mates.  So they were a perfect target audience to try out the following dish; ‘Partridge and celeriac risotto’

I was intrigued from the start as the ‘risotto’ doesn’t include any rice, but I like a challenge.  The celeriac is chopped up into rice sized grains (of course) sautéed in butter for a few minutes, then cooked off in a celeriac stock made from the trimmings, before adding partridge scraps, parmesan, lemon juice and herbs.

The partridge is roast whole, then the breasts are removed and grilled until the skin crisps up.  They then sit on a spoon of risotto and are served immediately, half a breast per person will nail a starter portion.  Don’t be tempted to ruin the look of this really simple presentation with sprinkles or drizzles.  The flavour combination is heavenly.  I would follow that with his ‘Turbot with smoked roe sauce’, or you could always eat them the other way round.

I really recommend this cookbook.  It’s uplifting, challenging and inspiring.  It pushes you but not in a shouty way.  I found it quite Zen like, you really have to concentrate to get the required results.  I would definitely practice the recipes before inviting a gaggle of chums round to impress, I did and it paid off.

Partridge and celeriac ‘risotto’

Partridge has a delicate flavour, which is creamy with a hint

of almonds, and when I first combined it with celeriac it was immediately

clear that it is a great pairing. It is rare that two plus two equals five –

but this is one of those rare occasions.

Serves 4

2 x oven-ready partridges

piece of butter

sea salt and pepper, to season

Celeriac ‘risotto’

1 medium celeriac (about 700 g/1 lb 9 oz), scrubbed

2 celery stalks, chopped

150 g/5 1/2 oz (.⁄. cup) unsalted butter

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan

squeeze of lemon juice

1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

1 tablespoon finely chopped celery leaves

sea salt and pepper, to season

 For the ‘risotto’, first peel the celeriac, making sure you keep all of the trimmings.

The next stage is to cut the celeriac into rice-sized ‘grains’. To do this,

first cut it in half, for ease of handling. Cut each half into thin slices, then cut

the slices lengthwise into long narrow strips, then crosswise into ‘grains’.

Reserve any trimmings.

Next, make a stock. Roughly chop the reserved celeriac peel and trimmings

into small pieces. Put in a pan with the chopped celery and add enough

filtered water to just cover. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer

for 20 minutes. Strain, then return the stock to the pan and simmer until

reduced by half. Set aside until needed.

When ready to cook the partridges, preheat the oven to 120.C/235.F.

Melt the butter in a baking pan and brown the birds all over. Season with salt

and pepper, then roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to

rest for 10 minutes.

While the birds are resting, make the celeriac ‘risotto’. Keep the stock at a

simmer. In another pan, melt 50 g/2 oz (¼ cup) of the butter. Add the celeriac

‘rice’ and sauté over medium heat for a few minutes, until slightly softened,

but not coloured. Add the stock, a ladleful at a time, until the celeriac is cooked

(around 5 minutes). It should be tender, but still have some bite.

 While the celeriac is cooking, preheat an overhead grill (broiler) to its highest

temperature and carve the partridges. Slice away the breasts and arrange

them on a baking sheet. Just before serving, crisp the skin of breasts under

the grill and season lightly. Pick the meat from the carcass and keep warm.

Remove the pan of celeriac from the heat and beat in the rest of the butter.

Stir in the cheese and the reserved partridge scraps, then add a squeeze of

lemon juice and the chopped herbs. Taste, and adjust the seasoning.

 Divide the risotto among 4 warm bowls and serve with the crisp-skinned

partridge breasts on top.