Greek Pheasant Pasta
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
20 mins
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Cook Time
1 hr 30 mins
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Total Time
1 hr 50 mins
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Servings
4 people
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Calories
1491 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Greek
Greek Pheasant Pasta
Description
Greek Pheasant Pasta features pheasant pieces browned and then simmered with diced vegetables, garlic, tomato paste, and a generous amount of red wine. The addition of fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, sage, and oregano layers subtle fragrance into the dish, while a cinnamon stick and red wine vinegar contribute warmth and acidity. Sweetness arrives from chopped dates and optional golden raisins, complemented by toasted pine nuts for a nutty crunch. The sauce slowly develops its depth as the pheasant cooks until tender enough to fall off the bone.
The final step involves serving this richly flavored pheasant and sauce mixture over cooked spaghetti, which soaks up the savory juices. The chopped parsley, mint, or fennel fronds sprinkled on top add a fresh contrast to the dense meat and sauce. The prolonged simmering melds all these components into a cohesive dish featuring both tender game meat and a sauce with balanced sweet, tart, and herbal notes.
This dish works well as a main course for a comforting lunch or dinner. Its combination of pheasant and dried fruit gives it a distinctive profile suited to those interested in Mediterranean-inspired meals using game meats. The recipe calls for patient cooking to ensure the pheasant achieves the ideal tender texture while infusing the sauce with rich flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 pheasant cut into serving pieces
- salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup onion yellow or white, chopped
- 1 carrot peeled and chopped
- 1 celery chopped, stalk
- 4 garlic minced, cloves
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup red wine (use Mavrodaphne, a Greek sweet wine, if you can get it)
- 1 tablespoon thyme fresh
- 1 tablespoon rosemary fresh
- 4-6 sage chopped, leaves
- 1 tablespoon oregano Greek, if possible, dried
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1-2 tablespoons mustard
- water see below, about 3-5 cups
- 1 pound spaghetti dried
- 8-10 dates pitted and chopped roughly
- 1/3 cup golden raisins (optional)
- 1/2 cup pine nuts toasted
- 1/2 cup parsley mint, fennel fronds or a combination of the three, chopped, fresh
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or other heavy, lidded pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and brown the pheasant pieces. Sprinkle some salt over them as they brown. Take your time and make sure everything is nicely browned, as it makes a difference in the final dish. Remove the pheasant and set aside.
- Add the carrot, celery and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are slightly browned, about 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute. While the veggies are cooking, mix the tomato paste in with the red wine and stir vigorously until they combine. Add to the pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape off any brown bits that have stuck to the bottom.
- Put the pheasant pieces back into the pot, then add the thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage, cinnamon stick, vinegar, mustard -- and enough water to cover everything by about 1 inch. Bring this to a simmer and cook over low heat until the pheasant meat wants to fall off the bone. This could take anywhere from 45 minutes for a young, pen-raised pheasant to 2 hours for an old rooster.
- Remove the pheasant and pull all the meat off the bones, and put it into a large bowl. Discard the cinnamon stick. Look at the pot, and if there is less than 2-3 inches of liquid in it, add some more water and bring it to a boil.
- Break the spaghetti in half and toss it into the pot with the dates, pine nuts and raisins if you are using them. Boil the pasta in the sauce uncovered until it is al dente. Toward the end of cooking you may need to stir the pasta frequently because the sauce will be getting close to boiling away. If it does get too dry, add 1/4 cup of water just to loosen it.
- When the pasta is done, turn off the heat and return the pheasant to the pot. Add the fresh herbs and toss to combine everything. Drizzle a little olive oil over it and serve at once with a light-bodied red wine or a hoppy beer.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 4people
Amount Per Serving
Calories 1491 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 1491kcal | 75% |
| Carbohydrates | 146g | 49% |
| Protein | 98g | 196% |
| Fat | 53g | 82% |
| Saturated Fat | 11g | 55% |
| Cholesterol | 242mg | 81% |
| Sodium | 337mg | 14% |
| Potassium | 2033mg | 43% |
| Fiber | 11g | 44% |
| Sugar | 48g | 96% |
| Vitamin A | 4218IU | 84% |
| Vitamin C | 40mg | 44% |
| Calcium | 181mg | 18% |
| Iron | 9mg | 50% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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