Recipe of the Month August

Wood pigeon, polenta crouton, wild red currant & caramelised almond salad.

With a background of working in some of the finest establishments, Head Chef and owner, Wesley Harris is putting his energy, skills and knowledge into his own business. Wesley prides himself on using fresh local produce wherever possible and is keen to support the local area in doing so.

Wesley started his career in 1996 at The Black Bear in Bettws Newydd and, after working in various fine dining establishments in London and Ireland, returned to the area in 2006 to work for Stephen Terry at The Hardwick and more recently for Matt Tebbutt at The Foxhunter.

Following the success of his first restaurant, Twenty Four in Monmouth, Wesley was keen to demonstrate his passion and flair for creating and cooking dishes in his own kitchen and so The Charthouse was born.

4 x Wood pigeon breasts
100g Quick cook polenta
300g Water
75g Grated Parmesan
50g Whole toasted almonds
50g caster sugar
50g wild red currants
100g Washed herb leaves
25g unsalted butter
1 tblsp Madeira
2 tblsp Olive oil
1 tsp sherry vinegar

Method
Firstly make the polenta. Place the water in a medium sauce pan and bring to a rolling boil. Once boiling whisk in the polenta and the grated parmesan and cook for 2/3 minutes until thick and paste like. Season with salt and pepper and pour into a greased flat tray and refrigerate.

Next place the sugar in a small frying pan and add a splash of water. Heat rapidly until you have a nice golden caramel when this has been achieved stir in the toasted almonds and set aside to cool.
When the polenta is cool break into bit sized chunks ready for deep frying.Your fryer should be at 180 oC. Also when the caramel and almonds have cooled they need to be smashed up with the end of a rolling pin in a saucepan to stop them flying everywhere.

Heat a heavy based frying pan until moderately hot, add the unsalted butter and place the pigeon breasts in, skin side down. When the skin has browned (this should only take 1/2 mins) remove the pan from the heat and turn the breasts over. While the pan is still hot add the Madeira olive oil & vinegar and let the pigeon rest for 5 mins.

In a bowl have the washed salad ready with some salt and pepper mixed through. Deep fry the polenta until golden and crispy then dry on some paper towel. Thinly slice the duck breast and return the cooking juices to a rapid boil to create an emulsion. Mix the pigeon, croutons, red currants, caramelised almonds and herb leaves together and lastly add the slightly cooled dressing. Divide out onto four plates, sprinkle with some of the reserved caramelised almonds and if you have any spare, finely grate some parmesan over the top to finish.

Book a table during the weekend of the Abergavenny Food festival and The Charthouse will give you a bottle of wine absolutely FREE! (Choice of 8 wines) When booking quote ‘Abergavenny Food Festival’ to claim free wine.

Visit website link for more details. Book now to avoid disappointment. Call (08173) 840414

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