Name: Faisan à la Vigneronne (Pheasant in the Style of the Vineyard Owner’s Wife)
Yield: Serves 4–6
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons crème fraîche or heavy cream; 2 tablespoons Vieux Marc de Bourgogne; ½ cup halved and seeded black grapes; 4 tablespoons butter; a brace of oven-ready pheasant; salt, freshly ground pepper; 4 tablespoons dry white wine; 1 small red onion or shallot, chopped; 4 good-sized sprigs of serpolet or cultivated thyme

Preparation info

Serves
4–6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Recipes from a French Herb Garden

By Geraldene Holt

Published 1999

About

These days it’s good to see that, increasingly, la vigneronne might also be the owner of the vineyard. This is an excellent, highly delicious way of cooking what can sometimes be a slightly dry bird. If Vieux Marc de Bourgogne is difficult to find, replace it with Scotch whisky – even my French friends would approve.

Ingredients

a brace of oven-ready pheasant
salt, freshly ground pepper
4 good-sized sprigs of serpolet or cultiva

Method

Season the pheasant with salt and pepper and place a sprig of thyme inside each. Melt half the butter in a cast-iron casserole and lightly brown the pheasant all over. Add the wine, cover and cook over low heat or in a 190° oven for 40–50 minutes or until cooked to your preference.

Transfer the pheasant to a hot serving dish. Melt the remaining butter in the pan and cook the onion for 4