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Pheasant Cacciatore, a la Francesco Crinella

This recipe was passed down as Frank's great grandfather's favorite. He and his son and his grandson were very fond hunters, so the birds in this recipe would have been wild. Pheasant can be found, but not so easily, so I've put this with our Duck recipes. I'd suggest that 2 wild pheasants would be a total weight of around 4 - 5 lbs. so one farm raised duck would be similar.

What you need

  1. 2 wild pheasants, disjointed
  2. 1/2 cup, sifted flour
  3. 1 cup, olive oil
  4. 2 large green bell peppers, roasted and peeled
  5. 1 cup, dried mushrooms, soaked in water
  6. 8 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
  7. 2 cups, small pearl onions, peeled
  8. 2 cups, small peeled carrots
  9. 1 cup, dry white wine
  10. 1 large (about 32 ounce) can, peeled plum tomatoes
  11. 1 tablespoon, dried rosemary
  12. 1 teaspoon, dried thyme
  13. 1 teaspoon, salt
  14. 1 teaspoon, pepper

How to make it

  1. Make sure that pheasant pieces are dry, then dredge them in flour, and sauté in a large skillet, over medium flame, in 1/2 cup of olive oil.
  2. When pheasant is well-browned on all sides, remove and set aside.
  3. Add onions, carrots, mushrooms and bell peppers to oil, and sauté until edges begin to brown.
  4. Add white wine and continue cooking until about half of the wine has evaporated, stirring to de-glaze the pan.
  5. Add canned tomatoes, garlic, salt and pepper, and spices and stir for a few minutes.
  6. Reduce flame to simmer, gently mix in pheasant pieces, and cover.
  7. Simmer for 1 hour.

According to family, this was traditionally served in large, deep oval plates with the vegetables on the side and pheasant pieces placed on a bed of plain steamed rice or spaghettini. Additional gravy was poured over the pheasant pieces and pasta. Two cups of rice, or two pounds of pasta will serve 8.

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