Chunky Pheasant and Bean Soup Is the Perfect Meal for A Snowy Day!

The best part of preparing a whole pheasant is how easy it is to roast in your oven. The easy and delicious recipe using pancetta or bacon that is described below is really a beautiful dish. The most significant difference between pancetta and bacon is that bacon is smoked, and pancetta is salt-cured and dried. Pancetta is available in most grocery stores, so don’t let the unusual name scare you away!

I love to serve roasted pheasant with wild rice. Roasted asparagus and spinach salad are complimentary flavors.

Roast Pheasant with Pancetta, White Wine, and Rosemary

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 130 minutes

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

1 Pheasant, 2-2.5 pounds

4 slices pancetta (fatty bacon if you don’t have pancetta)

3/4 – 1 c. dry white wine

4 sprigs rosemary

1 lemon, zested, then sliced

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Drain the beans. Put them in a pan, and cover them with water, bring them to a boil, and then turn down the heat and simmer them until they are tender – around an hour. Drain and set the beans aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based pan. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic, and, cook until soft – 10-12 minutes. Add the wine and simmer the ingredients until they are reduced by about half. Add the cooked beans, the pheasant, the stock and herbs, and then bring the soup to a simmer and cook it for 10-20 minutes, just to help the beans absorb the flavors.
3. Remove the bay leaf and thyme. You now need partially to blend the soup, so it thickens up but remains nice and chunky. The easiest way to do this is to plunge a stick blender into the pot and give a few blitzes. Alternatively, you could take out a couple of mugfuls of the soup, blend in a processor and return to the pan. Lastly, you could just mash the beans a bit with a potato masher. Season well and serve, piping hot, with a generous slosh of excellent olive oil on top and some bread.