Oliver Brown Recommends: Eat Wild

September's here and the grouse season is in full swing, after a fabulous Glorious Twelfth kick-off a few weeks back. We celebrated at Eat Wild's Glorious Twelfth evening in Cirencester, and were lucky enough to be eating the first fresh grouse of the season! We've teamed up with Will and Calum Thompson, award-winning game chefs and founders of Eat Wild, to offer the starter recipe we all enjoyed that evening. Enjoy!

Crayfish and Wild Nettle Risotto

Serves 4

Ingredients:

50g Butter

1 Small Onion Finely Chopped

2 Garlic Cloves, Crushed

300g Risotto Rice

1 Glass White Wine

1tbsp Chopped Fresh Thyme

1 Litre Hot Chicken or Fish Stock

180g Cooked Crayfish Tails

Salt + Pepper

100g Grated Parmesan

Parmesan Shavings

Watercress Leaves

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and fry the onion and garlic until soft (no colour) add rice and cook stirring for 1 minute. Then add the wine and let it bubble until almost evaporated.

Add the thyme then the stock a ladle at a time, stirring until the rice has absorbed the liquid, continue to cook gradually adding the stock, stirring until the rice is creamy and tender. Stir in the nettle puree, grated parmesan and crayfish tails, season to taste, serve immediately. Top with parmesan shavings and watercress leaves.

Nettle Puree

100 g Wild Nettles (picked)

50g Flat leaf Parsley

2 Shallots Peeled and Sliced

2 Cloves Garlic, Crushed

3tbsp Virgin Olive Oil

Heat the olive oil over a low heat and add in the shallots and garlic, cook for 3-4 minutes. To the softened shallots and garlic, add nettles and parsley leaves. Season with salt and pepper and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the leaves are wilted. Transfer to processor and puree to smooth paste.

This recipe was created by Will and Calum Thompson, founders of Eat Wild. Visit their restaurant at 4 Castle Street, Cirencester or follow their journey on Twitter at @eat_wild.

www.eat-wild.co.uk