Pheasant with Spanish Patatas, Kale, and Romesco
Recipe contributed by D. Prewett.
Originally published on Wild and Whole
On weeknights I usually want to make a quick healthy dinner with the minimal amount of ingredients, nothing fancy. I have had Spanish food on my mind lately because one of my brothers is currently moving there (totally jealous, don’t get me started). So, I decided to make Spanish Patatas with Kale, Romesco and Pheasant.
Spanish Patatas, aka potatoes, are a common tapas menu item usually served with “bravos”, a spicy tomato sauce. The potatoes are chopped into small pieces and roasted until crispy. Instead of using a tomato sauce, I like to use my favorite condiment ever, Romesco. To make dinner even easier, I always make a double batch of Romesco and freeze half of it for another weeknight dinner. If you have never had Romesco you are in for a real treat! You can find my Spicy Romesco recipe here. Because I like to boost every meal with as many greens as possible, I added sautéed lacinato kale and garnished it with lots of fresh parsley.
Not only is this a really easy meal to make, but it is Whole 30 approved and very budget friendly. There aren’t too many ingredients and you can get kale, potatoes and onion for under $10!
I used lacinato kale because it is more tender than the curly variety, but you can use either one since it is being sautéed. If you do use curly kale, just make sure to chop it up into small pieces because it can be hard to break down. I also like to add several roasted garlic cloves with the sautéed kale. I made the Romseco sauce at the same time as I was making this recipe, and so I was already roasting a head of garlic and reserved some of the roasted cloves to roughly chop and add to the dish. You can use fresh chopped garlic or store bought roasted garlic too.
My favorite way to eat skinless pheasant breast is to pan roast them. This cooking technique is my favorite and the one I use the most often! To simply put it, you start by browning the meat on one side, flip it, and then transfer it to a hot oven to finish cooking. This gives you a golden crust on both sides, cooks evenly throughout, and retains the juices in the meat. Seriously, it is a game changer for pheasant and ducks.
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After the pheasant breasts are almost fully cooked (keyword, almost – do not to overcook) remove the pan from the oven and set it under foil to finish cooking. Let the hot sauté pan cool for a minute, and put it back on the burner on low, which is more like medium-high because its probably really hot from oven. You just don’t want it to be scorching hot and burn everything! Begin to sauté the onions and let it caramelize a bit, add leftover roasted garlic from romesco sauce, if you have it, and then finally the chopped kale. Squeeze some lemon over the top, stir in the crispy potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and get ready to eat! Serve with pheasant, romesco and fresh parsley.
- 2 Pheasant Breasts
- 2 large russet potatoes
- 4 Tablespoons of Oil (Avocado, Grapeseed, Canola, etc.)
- 3 C. chopped Kale/ One Large Bunch
- 1 T. Lemon Juice
- ¼ Large onion, chopped
- 4-5 Cloves of minced Garlic (roasted- Optional)
- 3 T. Chopped Parsley (optional)
- Romesco Sauce
- Pre-season the pheasant with a sprinkle of salt at least a couple hours before cooking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Dice the potatoes into small 1″ cubes. Drizzle with 2 T. of oil (or more if needed) and season with salt and pepper. Spread the potatoes across a large sheet pan in an even layer, leaving space in between so that they can get crispy. Transfer the tray to oven and roast for about 35 minutes or longer, until crispy and cooked through. Remove and set aside.
- While the potatoes are roasting, heat a large, oven proof sauté pan over medium high heat. Add another tablespoon of oil and once hot, set the pheasant breast down in the pan, being careful that they do not touch. Allow the meat to fully brown and develop a crust, 3-5 minutes. After the pheasant breasts lift freely from the pan, flip it to the other side and immediately transfer to the oven. Allow it to finish cooking for another 8 – 10 minutes or so until done. Be careful not to overcook. Remove pan from the oven and set the pheasant aside under foil to rest.
- Allow the sauté pan to cool off for a couple of minutes and then put it back on the burner on low. Add the final tablespoon of oil and then the chopped onion. Sauté the onions until they start to brown, stirring only occasionally. Add the kale, lemon juice and garlic to the onions and cook until the kale begins to soften, being careful not to burn.
- Toss the Potatoes into the pan with the sauté kale and stir to combine. Serve with Pheasant, Romesco and chopped parsley.
