Pheasant breast with porcini mushroom polenta

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 pheasant(s)
• 1 bunch soup vegetables (1 carrot, 1 slice of celery), small, chopped
• 1 shallot(s), finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove(s), finely chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 sprig(s) rosemary
• 1 sprig(s) of thyme
• 100 ml red wine
• 50 ml port wine
• 25 ml balsamic vinegar, old
• 1 tbsp butter, cold
• 1 cup polenta
• ¾ liter of milk
• 150 ml cream
• 2 tbsp porcini mushrooms, dried
• 1 cup of water, warm
• 100 g porcini mushrooms, fresh (or dried out of season)
• n. B. Water for infusion
• Butter for frying
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 50 minutes

Rinse the dried porcini mushrooms and soak them in 1 cup of warm water. Remove the pheasant breasts and finely chop the rest of the birds. Sear these leftovers in hot oil until crisp. Stir in the tomato paste and add the finely chopped vegetables. Deglaze with the red wine. Add the herbs—except for a few rosemary sprigs—and add enough water to almost cover the mixture. Slowly reduce the liquid to a simmer for about 2-3 hours. Meanwhile, bring half of the milk to a boil. Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle in the polenta, stirring frequently. Squeeze out the dried porcini mushrooms, which have softened somewhat, and reserve the soaking water. If using, finely chop them along with the cleaned fresh mushrooms and add them to the polenta. Continue stirring continuously, adding the remaining milk and a little cream (to taste) until the desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper. Now add the soaking water and finish cooking. Pour the polenta onto a large board and shape into a rectangular mass approximately 2 cm thick. Allow to cool, and shortly before serving, cut out portions of approximately 10 cm x 5 cm per person and fry them in a little butter. Now strain the reduced sauce through a sieve and continue to simmer. Pour in the port wine and balsamic vinegar and reduce again until reduced to a few tablespoons. This may take some time. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Now insert a few rosemary sprigs under the skin of the pheasant breasts and briefly fry them on all sides in a little butter at medium heat. Season with salt and pepper, and place in a preheated oven at 150°C for approximately 8-12 minutes, depending on size and thickness. Now heat the sauce (do not boil) and add the cold butter. Then lightly score the breasts three times lengthwise, coat with the sauce, and arrange on plates with the reheated polenta. Serve hot. This goes well with long Spanish fillet beans – blanched for 5 minutes in heavily salted water, refreshed in ice-cold water, cut into 2 cm squares and served with pine nuts in a little butter.