There have been two bits of goods news coming from the cellar.
The first, and most important given the weeks ahead, is that the barrel of beer has developed a good head. This morning it looked flat and un-inspired but by the time I was home for the evening the yeast and slight heat had done its work and there was a thick creamy head and a smell of bread being kneaded and full impression given that sugar was being converted into alcohol.
The second bit of good news was finding a partridge. I knew there was one down there but it took three good furtles through the chest freezer until I found it. I had wrapped it up well. Along the way I came across two frozen rabbits that had ben down there for far longer than the partridge, a couple of pigs feet waiting for use and a bag full of sloes.
I had the partridge this evening.
A couple of potatoes were peeled and sliced into rounds before being fried in hot oil in a pan. I had a couple of small quinces left over from a friend’s garden and they were peeled and chopped up and added to the potatoes with plenty of salt and pepper. The pan then went into a hot oven whilst a kids tea of noodles and chicken was cooked, eaten and dispensed with.
A single whole partridge was then rested on top of the potatoes and put back into the oven for 40 minutes.
It came out well – the mild gamey flavour of the partridge against the crisp salt of the potatoes and the hint of autumn sweetness from the quince. I ate it listening to dodgy early 1990’s US new wave from a band called Lotion. They were almost as good as the partridge.
Sheep's Head Food Company 