Impress your guests with partridge breast, earthy Jerusalem artichoke, sweet apple and crispy kale from Michelin-starred chef Kenny Atkinson.
For the marinated artichoke discs, put all the ingredients apart from the artichokes into a large pan. Bring to a simmer, add the artichoke discs and bring back to a simmer. Pour into a deep container and leave to marinate for an hour.
For the chicken sauce, heat the oil in a deep pan over a medium-high heat. Add the wings and cook until caramelised. Set the wings aside.
Drain the pan and add the shallots. Cook the shallots until caramelised then add the mushrooms, garlic and thyme.
When they have turned golden-brown de-glaze the pan with the Madeira and continue to cook to reduce it in volume down to a syrup.
Add the stock, put the wings back into the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes and then pass through a fine sieve.
To finish, add the cream and cook to reduce the volume of liquid down to a sauce consistency. Finish with lemon juice, to taste.
For the Jerusalem artichoke purée, put all the ingredients into a pan with 560ml/1 pint of water and bring to the boil. Cook over a high heat to rapidly reduce the volume of liquid until the butter and water have absorbed into the vegetables. Add cream, to taste, and blend to a smooth purée using a stick blender.
For the partridge, bring the chicken stock, garlic and thyme to the boil in a pan. Once boiling, remove the pan from the heat and place the partridge crowns into the stock, cover and leave for 10 minutes.
Remove the partridge crowns from the pan and pat dry. Carefully remove the breasts from the partridge crowns using a thin, sharp knife.
Heat a non-stick frying pan and add a little oil. Season the partridge breasts with salt and pepper and place skin-side down in the pan. Cook until golden-brown, then add a little butter and turn the partridge over. Baste for 20 seconds, remove the breasts from the pan and set aside in a warm place.
For the kale, prepare a deep-fat fryer or fill a large, deep, heavy-bottomed pan two-thirds full with vegetable oil. Heat the oil to 160C/300F (use a probe thermometer to check the temperature if you're not using a deep-fat fryer). (CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Don't leave unattended)
Deep fry the kale for approximately 30 seconds or until the kale is crisp. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Season with a little salt and leave to cool.
For the mushroom and smoked bacon garnish, in a hot pan add a touch of rapeseed oil and fry the pancetta until just golden-brown. Add the mushrooms and a little butter and cook for a further minute. Add the chopped chives and season if needed.
For the caramelised apple, heat the sugar in a pan until it turns a light caramel colour.
Add the apple rings and a little butter and cook for 30 seconds, flip the apple over and turn off the heat of the pan, after 20 seconds remove the apple from the pan.
To serve, on large serving plates trim the partridge and neatly place off centre, and put the apple next to the partridge. Spoon the Jerusalem artichoke purée next to the them. Spoon the smoked bacon and mushrooms over and around the breast. Finish with a little drizzle of chicken sauce and arrange a few pieces of deep-fried kale and artichoke discs around the plate.
