Summer Grouse Ratatouille Recipe

It’s Grouse season, and although the opportunities for shooting days are little more scarce this year, we expect you’ll probably still be able to get your hands on a bird or two. When that happens, you’re going to want to know what to do with it. You may think that cooking up a superb Grouse dinner only happens in high-end restaurants - but it can actually take place in your own kitchen at home. We’ve teamed up with gametoeat.co.uk to give you a little bit of inspiration for what to do when you come home with a succulent Grouse and need a quick meal!

Lesson number one of cooking grouse; it doesn’t necessarily have to be oven roasted and served traditionally. In fact, with the summer weather still with us, there is no reason not to make a light meal out of your grouse. This ratatouille hits just the right notes, with the lightness of the vegetables pairing perfectly with the depth of taste provided by the grouse breasts. This quick-fire recipe means you have more time to enjoy the good weather while it lasts.

Follow this simple step-by-step guide to produce a beautiful family meal that’ll impress everyone in the household.

Of course, you’ll have to get your ingredients together which involves a little bit of preparation before you can begin. To serve four people, you’ll need:

• 8 Grouse breasts, ready for pan frying (plucked and stuffed if you’re using a full bird)

• A selection of vegetables, 50 grams of each, diced and ready to make the ratatouille. We suggest aubergine, courgette, peppers, tomatoes and peas for a more traditional ratatouille

• For sauces, seasoning and garnishing: pea shoots and basil leaves (10 grams), 200ml of fresh tomato sauce, and some sea salt and cracked black pepper.

1. ​ With all of this prepped and ready, you can start to cook your meal. You’ll want to season your Grouse to begin with. We’d recommend plenty of salt and pepper rubbed in, as well as perhaps a few lemon wedges to add a hint of zest.
2. Make sure your pan is nice and hot with a little vegetable oil in there, and once it’s ready to sizzle on first contact, your Grouse can go straight in. The bird doesn’t need too much cooking - no more than 2-3 minutes each side will have your meat very tender and full of flavour still. When you’re happy with its cooking, remove the breasts from the pan and put them aside to rest for a few more minutes.
3. Whilst the Grouse is resting, you’ll want to sauté your vegetables. That simply means cooking them all in one pan on a high heat, with a small amount of oil, until soft and well cooked. Start with aubergine, courgettes and peppers and cook these for a few minutes by themselves until they start softening.
4. Then, you can add the chopped tomatoes and the tomato sauce; letting everything bubble away slightly.  Once you think everything’s just about done, add the peas to give them a little bit of heat, alongside the basil and a lot more seasoning with the salt and pepper. This will be ready in another minute or so, and you’ll have your ratatouille.
5. It’s already time to plate up. The ratatouille comes first; spoon an equal amount on each plate and try not to make it look too much like a soup. Then two Grouse breasts can go on each plate on top of this. All that’s left is to garnish each plate with a few pea shoots and add a little seasoning on top. 

Serve and enjoy!

For more great game recipe ideas, check out the gametoeat website for hundreds of great ideas!