Roast Partridge with Wild Mushrooms and Polenta

Clean and trim the partridges, stuff with the rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth. Peel and finely chop a few cloves of garlic.

Bring the chicken stock up to a simmer in a saucepan over a medium heat and stir in the polenta. Stir this every few minutes for about 40 minutes adding some hot water if it gets too thick.

Take the more fleshy mushrooms (the porcini in this case) and chop into smallish pieces. Add the mushrooms to a pan along with the garlic and a little olive oil and cook over a medium heat for five minutes or so.

Chop the remainder of the mushrooms, add to the pan and cook for another five minutes stirring for time to time. Put to one side.

Brown the partridges well in olive oil on all sides. Transfer to a hot oven at 450°F/220°C/Reg8 and cook for fifteen minutes turning three times (breast down, other breast down, upright. Take out and keep warm.

Deglaze the partridge pan with the red wine scraping away at the pan bottom. Stir in about a pint of chicken stock, sprinkle over two tablespoonfuls of flour and stir until absorbed. Keep cooking for another five minutes and season with salt and pepper.

Reheat the mushrooms, finely chop the parsley and add to the pan  Picture  . Joint the partridges to breasts and legs and serve with the mushrooms, polenta and sauce  Picture  .