NICHOLA FLETCHER COOKS GAME
2003 Game Conservancy Scottish Fair
Recipes © Nichola Fletcher 2003. Reediehill Farm, Auchtermuchty, Fife KY14 7HS
 

Here, as promised, are the recipes I cooked at the Game Conservancy Scottish Fair:

PLAITED TROUT WITH RED & GREEN PEPPER SAUCES

Notes: If you are making the dish for a number of people, it is well worth the effort of making both sauces, otherwise just one will make a more than acceptable offering. The reason for plaiting the fish is to keep thin fillets moist; the fact it looks attractive is a bonus. The pink of the trout is offset nicely with a white flat fish like plaice or sole. If wished, make the sauces beforehand as they take much longer to cook than the fish.

Ingredients for 4:

• 4 trout fillets
• 4 plaice or sole fillets
• 1 teasp crushed garlic
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 tablesp dry Martini
• 2 medium red peppers
• 2 medium green peppers
• 2 x 150ml (¼ pt) concentrated fish stock
• 2 x small cartons double cream

Method:
Skin the fillets. Almost cut each one into three lengthways, but leaving them attached at the thick end and making the thin side of the fillet wider than the two thick strips. Fold the thin side under and plait, tucking the ends under. Oil a flat dish and sprinkle a little of the garlic, Martini and lemon on it. Place the fillets in the dish and sprinkle the rest of the oil, garlic, lemon and Martini over them. Allow to marinate for a while.

Meanwhile make the sauces. Skin the peppers by blackening the skins and rubbing them off. Chop roughly and place each colour of pepper in a separate saucepan. Add the stock, cover, and simmer till tender (about half an hour). Add a splash of water if necessary. When tender, liquidise or rub through a sieve to a purée. Return to the pan and add the cream. If necessary, boil until the sauce is thickened. Season to taste. 

Bake the fish for 15 minutes in a medium oven until just cooked and no more. Carefully serve each person with a white and a pink fish plait, then carefully spoon the sauces on either side to make a contrast.
 

GAME ON THE BARBECUE

My suggestion for enjoying game in the summer is to use up all the awkward bits of game in your freezer, clearing the way for next season which will not be long in coming. Mince it all up and make some upmarket patties or burgers which you can all enjoy in the barbecue. Encourage children to join in the process and you will find they do enjoy eating game. After all, it is good to bring them up enjoying healthy food. 

Use a food processor to chop the meat. If there are any lead pellets you will hear them rattling in the bowl so you can fish them out. Don't process the meat too much or it will turn into a paste. Game is wonderfully lean which makes it ideal for the summertime. However, you want to keep it moist as it cooks, so here are a few tips for things to mix in with the meat. 

Rabbit meat with herbs such as thyme and a good dash of lemon juice for a lovely summery flavour. Keep it moist with mushrooms (add them after you have chopped the meat and just a few whizzes will chop them enough), a little delicious oil - there are so many to choose from nowadays, use one flavoured with chilli if you like a hot flavour - and bind the mixture with beaten egg so it doesn't break up on the barbecue.

Dark meats (e.g. pigeon breast, wild goose) are delicious flavoured with chopped ginger root and moistened with walnut oil. To keep them moister, add some finely chopped shallot and try cooking some aubergines in the microwave (they turn to a mush) and stir this in for added flavour and to improve the texture. A little medium oatmeal (not oat flakes) may be added with the beaten egg to bind the mixture and to enhance the nutty flavour. As an alternative flavour to the ginger, try some chopped lovage which has a strong celery flavour. 

Serve all these with herb salads and a simple fresh tomato sauce made from skinned and chopped tomatoes, simmered in olive oil and chopped shallots, seasoned with salt, pepper and served with fresh basil leaves.