Roast partridge with meatloaf

Method

1. For the pickled radishes: whisk the whisky and olive oil together, season with salt and pepper, then stir in the sliced radishes. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 12 hours or for as long as you’ve got – the longer they marinate, the pinker they’ll become.

2. Preheat oven to 230C/gas 8.

3. For the meatloaf: remove the sausage meat from the skins and mix well with the onion and breadcrumbs. Moisten with the stock and cream – it should be a wet mix that is easily spreadable. Check seasoning and adjust if necessary.

4. Butter a small 2.5cm deep baking dish and spoon in the mix, levelling the top. Set aside to put in the oven with the partridge. Then bake for about 10-15 minutes or until set. Remove and keep warm.

5. Melt a good knob of butter in an ovenproof frying pan and brown the partridge all over. Put the partridge and the meatloaf in the oven (in separate trays) and cook for 10-15 minutes depending on size. Test inside the lower thigh with the tip of a knife – it should be barely pink, not bloody. Rest in a warm place while you make the rest of the accompaniments.

6. For the black pudding purée:chop up the black pudding and mix with the chicken stock. Warm through in a small pan until broken down, then pass through a sieve. Add more stock if too thick – it needs to flow, but hold its shape.

7. To assemble the dish, carefully remove the legs then the breasts with the wing bone attached. Reserve the carcass for stock. Slice the meatloaf into long thin slices (you will need 4 – the rest could be eaten for breakfast with a nice fried egg on top).

8. Lay a slice of meatloaf in the centre of the plate. Add a pile of warm greens and a few pickled radishes. Sit a partridge breast and leg on top and spoon a line of black pudding purée alongside. Drizzle the gravy around and over the partridge. Garnish with chopped parsley.