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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
As hunting season arrives in the UK, so too does the opportunity to cook with some of the most delicious ingredients our countryside has to offer – if you know where to look.
From early September through to February, wild meats such as venison, partridge and grouse begin to appear in the hands of skilled butchers and on the counters of more experienced supermarkets.
But if you want to experience game at its most refined, you need to turn to masters like Ramiro Lafuente Martinez, executive chef at The Connaught Grill, a man who makes cooking with game feel less like a rustic affair and more like a private audience with culinary royalty.
Take for example his chicken liver parfait. It’s not just a starter; it’s a rich, velvety dish served with a bright, tart blackberry emulsion and garnished with edible flowers that will have your guests thinking you’ve been working by windowlight in a Mayfair kitchen. Or the venison and foie gras pithivier, a dish so decadent it should come with a health warning – but with one bite, you won’t care. And let’s not forget the smoked vanilla and whisky soufflé, a dessert that takes the classic French staple, adds a touch of alcoholic warmth and elevates it into a realm of pure indulgence.
So if you're feeling bold this game season, why not incorporate a little of Martinez's Connaught magic into your kitchen? Sure, these recipes may test your culinary mettle, but trust me, the payoff is worth every second.
Chicken liver parfait, blackberry emulsion, orange zest
Serves: 2-3 people
Ingredients:
For the chicken skin tile:
60g chicken skin
For the liver parfait:
200 g chicken liver
25 g double cream
5 g unsalted butter
10 g of candied shallots
1g thyme
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
10 ml of port wine
For the blackberry emulsion:
100 g fresh blackberries
20 ml red port wine
20 ml of orange juice
Honey to taste
Garnishes:
Alder flowers
Orange zest
Method:
1. Create a shingle with the chicken skin. Start by removing all the fat from the chicken skin. Then roast it between two trays at 180°C for approximately 10 minutes.
2. Make a classic liver parfait. Sauté chicken livers in brown butter. Add shallots, thyme, salt and black pepper. Once the shallots are confit, add a glass of reduced port wine and cook the mixture for a few more minutes.
3. Serve the dish with a blackberry emulsion. To make the emulsion, use fresh blackberries, a reduction of red port wine, orange juice and a touch of honey. Decorate the tile with alder flowers and orange zest.
Venison and foie gras pithivier, truffled mashed potatoes, venison jus
Serves: 2-3 people
Ingredients:
For the mushroom duxelles:
200 g seasonal wild mushrooms, finely chopped
50 g confit shallots, finely chopped
40 ml of olive oil
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
For the spinach layer:
300 g fresh spinach leaves
A few tablespoons of olive oil
Salt to taste
For the foie gras:
30-40 g of foie gras, deveined and cut into slices
20 g of salt
5 g of sugar
2g thyme
For the venison loin:
140-150g venison loin
50 ml olive oil (for marinating)
2 g rosemary
2g thyme
1 clove of crushed garlic
5 g crushed black peppercorns
Salt to taste
Oil (for browning)
For the pithivier dough:
300g puff pastry
1 beaten egg (for painting)
For the truffled puree:
400g of potatoes
60 g double cream
75 g unsalted butter
10 g freshly grated black truffle
Salt to taste
White pepper to taste
Method:
1. The pithivier is topped with wild mushrooms, spinach, foie gras and venison. First, the mushroom duxelles are prepared by sautéing the seasonal wild mushrooms and shallots until cooked through, making sure to remove all excess water from the mixture.
2. For the spinach layer, fresh spinach leaves are sautéed with olive oil and salt, then passed through a sieve to remove any remaining moisture. The spinach is then rolled between two sheets of baking paper to create a thin layer. Slices of deveined foie gras are left to marinate for about 20 minutes with salt, sugar and thyme.
3. The venison loin is marinated overnight in oil with fresh herbs and spices and then browned in a pan with oil the next day.
4. To assemble the pithivier, allow all the components to cool before placing them in layers. The venison loin forms the base, followed by the slices of foie gras and the mushroom duxelles. Once compacted, the layers are wrapped with the spinach leaf.
5. To prepare the truffled purée, bake the potatoes until tender, peel them and strain them through a fine sieve. Emulsify the potatoes with liquid cream and a generous amount of butter. Just before serving, add freshly grated black truffle and season the purée to taste.
Smoked vanilla and whiskey soufflé
Serves: 2-3 people
Ingredients:
For the pastry cream:
650 ml of milk
Smoked vanilla (vanilla with liquid smoke extract), to taste
70g of sugar
47 g cornstarch
180g egg yolks
For the vanilla ice cream:
450 ml of milk
150 ml of cream
140g egg yolks
120g of sugar
Smoked vanilla to taste
70 ml of whiskey (optional)
For the soufflé:
Smoked soft butter, around the molds
65g of egg whites
30 g of sugar
125 g of pastry cream
Garnish:
Smoked vanilla ice cream (homemade or store-bought)
Method:
1. Make a classic French pastry cream. Boil milk with smoked vanilla to extract as much flavor as possible. Whisk the dry ingredients into the egg mixture and then cook everything together until it boils and thickens. Make smoked vanilla at home by adding liquid smoke extract to the vanilla.
2. Make the vanilla ice cream. Cook a vanilla custard to 82°C. Let it cool and then add whiskey to mature the flavor. Churn the ice cream fresh the same day, using the previously smoked vanilla. If you don't have an ice cream maker, opt for purchased vanilla ice cream.
3. Prepare the soufflé moulds. Brush them with softened smoked butter using straight strokes and cover with icing sugar.
4. Make a meringue by beating the egg whites with the sugar. Fold it into the pastry cream, preheated to about 60°C. Pour the mixture into the tops of the moulds, level and bake in the oven at 180°C for about 7 minutes.
5. Serve the soufflé with smoked vanilla ice cream on the side.
