Roast partridge with cauliflower and apple purée, bitter chocolate and thyme – by Nathan Outlaw

Ingredients (Serves four starters)

For the partridge
2 x 450-500g partridges (plucked, drawn, legs removed and left on the crown)
Oil
Butter
Salt and pepper

For the cauliflower purée 1 small cauliflower, trimmed and finely chopped
100ml vegetable nage
50g unsalted butter
Salt and pepper

For the apple purée 1 large cooking apple, peeled and chopped
25g unsalted butter
10ml lemon juice
10ml water

For the chocolate sauce 50g caster sugar
50ml red wine vinegar
100ml port
100ml lamb stock
100ml game stock
20g bitter chocolate pistols 70%
Picked thyme leaves

Method For the partridge, preheat the oven to 200°C. Heat frying pan and add oil. Colour partridge crown all over for three minutes, and season. Place in the oven for three minutes on its front then three on its back. Remove from oven and rest, placing the butter in the cavity, for five minutes. Remove the breasts from the bone and season. When ready to serve, place back in the oven for 1-2 minutes.

For the cauliflower purée, heat a pan with a good-fitting lid on a medium heat. Add the butter and the cauliflower, and season. Cook for two minutes (don't colour) and add the nage. Place the lid on the pan and cook for 25 minutes, checking every five minutes, adding more nage if required. Once the cauliflower is cooked, remove the lid and allow the nage to reduce until almost dry. Place the cooked cauliflower into a blender and blend until smooth. Reheat for service.

For the apple purée, place all the ingredients into a pan with a good-fitting lid. Heat until cooked with the lid on, and blend until smooth.

Nathan Outlaw, head chef, St Ervan Manor, near Padstow, Cornwall