Pheasant and Squash Curry By Mark Hix

PHEASANT AND SQUASH CURRY

The Curry club has started up again for the chilli winter months at the Oyster and Fish House and the Fox. It’s a great time to make a curry like this with an abundance of pheasants around, and everyone seems to growing squashes now who maybe got a bit keen on gardening during lockdown. I like to keep some different curry sauces and curries in the freezer, flat packed in zip lock bags for a quick decision supper.

MARK HIX

INGREDIENTS

• 20 or so pheasant thighs • 300-400g squash flesh, cut into rough 2cm chunks • 4 onions, peeled and sliced • 2 medium green chillies, deseeded and sliced • 1tbsp ghee • tbsp tomato purée • 1 litre chicken stock; a good cube will do • 1tbsp chopped coriander leaves • For the marinade • 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed • 50g root ginger, scraped and finely grated • A good pinch of saffron • 200g thick yoghurt • 4 cloves • For the spice mix • 1tsp black peppercorns • The seeds from 12 cardamom pods • A small piece of cinnamon or cassia stick • 1tsp cumin seeds • 1tsp fennel seeds • 1tsp ground turmeric • To garnish • 2tsp melon seeds • 1tbsp peeled pistachio nuts • 2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix all of the ingredients together for the marinade then mix with the pheasant thighs, cover and marinade for an hour. 2. Meanwhile put all of the ingredients for the spice mix in a cast-iron frying pan and heat them over a medium heat for about 3-4 minutes, turning them regularly with a spoon until they are lightly browned.

Transfer to a mortar and pestle and coarsely grind the spices. 3. Melt the ghee in a thick-bottomed pan and gently cook the onions and chillies on a low heat with a lid on for 5-6 minutes, stirring every so often until soft. Add the spices, tomato purée and chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the pheasant and the marinade, cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes then add the squash and continue simmering for another 25 minutes, topping up with a little water if necessary. Take a ladle of the sauce and blend in a liquidiser until smooth and return to the pan. The pheasant should be tender now and the sauce quite thick; if not continue simmering. Stir in the coriander and transfer to a serving dish. 4. To serve, mix the melon seeds, pistachios and shallots together and scatter on top.

Serve with basmati rice.

It’s been quite a busy couple of years for Project Food (formally HALFF) in Axminster. Not only have they had to adapt to how they support the local community in response to the Covid 19 pandemic, but they have a new name and a new home.

Project Food are a registered charity, set up in 2006 as Health and Local Food for Families (HALFF) registered charity number 1121605, in response to the rising levels of ill health caused by a poor diet. In 2017 they re-registered as a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) number 1173120, and in 2020 changed their name to Project Food.

Project Food are best known for their cooking sessions in the community. In March 2020, all cooking sessions had to be cancelled for the foreseeable future due to Coronavirus. The charity quickly re-evaluated how they could best serve the community and started to provide fresh fruit and veg deliveries to people unable to get out to the shops or get online supermarket delivery slots, ready meals to people who were unable to cook for themselves and had lost support in lockdown and provided free fruit, veg and meals to people impacted financially…this is continuing today.

In November 2020 the difficult decision was made to close the fruit and veg shop. Thankfully, Mandy who worked in the shop continued, moving just a few doors down in South Street under the new name ‘Not Just Veg’.

In February 2021, they then moved to their new home in Axminster Hospital. As part of the NHS Social Prescribing initiative, they were approached by NHS Property Services and asked if they would like to take over the unused kitchen space to support people to live a healthier lifestyle and reducing pressure on NHS services. This move has provided Project Food with a newly refurbished space, complete with offices and two big kitchens for cooking ready meals and teaching. It was a while before they were able to invite people into the new space as the second lockdown took hold, but they are thrilled to announce that sessions at Axminster Hospital as well as The Crowshute Centre in Chard and The Marshlands Centre in Seaton have now started again.

The friendly support groups will offer cooking demonstrations to anyone that would like to learn how to cook healthy and nutritious meals to help improve and support their own physical and mental health or that of their loved ones. Learn how to cook healthily on a budget, get helpful tips on cooking great meals for just one person, learn what recipes are great for batch cooking and get some new ideas and inspiration from the Project Food team and others attending the group.

Hannah Smart, Project Manager at Project Food said ‘We are looking forward to welcoming everyone back to our sessions and would love to see some new faces to join our friendly groups. They are a great place to meet new people that share an interest in food and cooking. We will of course serve lunch at each session which is a great opportunity to socialise and try what has been cooked at the session.’

The sessions in December are 10th, 14th and 21st. For more information please contact the Project Food team and further dates. Call 01297 631782 or email info@project-food. org.uk