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Tom Kitchin’s Roast Partridge Stuffed with Oats, Orange & Pancetta

"This dish is a great way to try cooking game and can be enjoyed as an alternative to the traditional Sunday roast. Oats have always been an integral part of Scottish cooking, and when my head chef suggested the idea of stuffing a partridge with oats it made perfect sense. It’s really impressive how the oats take on the flavour of the aroma of the partridge to make it a really lovely and original dish" - Tom Kitchin

30 minutes prep, 20 minutes cook

Serves 4

Ingredients

200g porridge oats

100g prunes, finely chopped

1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Freshly squeezed juice of 2 oranges

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

Olive oil

1 tbsp juniper berries

4 oven-ready partridges

4 pancetta rashers

2 long cinnamon sticks, split length ways

Fresh rosemary needles, to garnish

Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven 200˚C/Fan 180 ˚C/Gas 6.

Put the oats in a bowl, then stir in the prunes, parsley, ground cinnamon, orange juice and zest and a good splash of oil. Crush the juniper berries with a pestle and mortar, then add to the bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.

To prepare the partridges, use a small knife to cut down either side of the birds wishbone and remove it. Now use your fingers to check that all the heart and stomach have been removed from the carcass. Repeat with the remaining birds. Divide the oat mixture among the partridge cavities. Cover the back of each bird with a bacon rasher and tie in place with kitchen string, then truss the legs together for even cooking. Season all over with salt and pepper.

Heat a heavy-based roasting tray, or 2 smaller trays, over a medium-high heat, then add a good splash of oil. When it is hot, add the partridges and turn them as necessary until they are coloured all over and the bacon is crispy. Transfer the roasting tray to the oven and roast for 12 minutes, adding any extra oat balls for the final 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, skewer the fig halves with the cinnamon stick pieces, as if making a kebab. Add the figs to the roasting tray and return it to the oven for a further 2-3 minutes until the partridges are medium rare and the figs are tender. Transfer the birds to a warm plate and set aside to rest for 5 minutes covered with kitchen foil.

While the birds are resting, return the oat balls and figs to the oven.

Serve the partridges straight from the roasting tray, sprinkles with rosemary, with the figs and the oat balls too.