Simplified pheasant cacciatore with ice cube potatoes

Any meal that I can sling into the oven and forget about is good and if it is tasty, that's a bonus. This is one of those. Those who know me probably have an idea of what I'm going to say next, the real bonus with an oven dinner.

With a dinner that cooks itself in the oven, there is no excuse for a messy kitchen. While it sits there, cooking itself to perfection, you will have plenty of time to clear up, wash up, put things away and wipe down the countertop. After dinner you will be left with the tray you cooked the meal in and whatever you used for serving, that's it. Please take my advice, use the oven time to clear up. Make your evening so much nicer, knowing that you won't have a washathon waiting for you when you have licked your plate.

A couple of years ago I discovered an Italian dish, chicken cacciatore or hunter's chicken, if you wish. I could investigate why a hunter would eat chicken rather than whatever animal he was hunting. Perhaps he didn't get anything and had to go home empty handed, or maybe he got lost and ventured onto a farm, thinking a fat chicken looked like a turkey. I don't know, but I like the name and I always say it with a not too authentic Italian accent. Sorry, I can't help myself.

If you search for cacciatore on Pinterest, you will find loads of different recipes. I picked one and have stuck with it ever since, adapting it to become my own de-faffed version over time. As I actually live with a hunter, I quite often make it with something he has brought home and no, he doesn't go hunting chicken on someone's farm. Instead of chicken I tend to cook cacciatore with either pheasant or partridge and those fillets work just as well as the regular bird. Should you use pheasant legs in this dish, they need a half hour head start, or they will be tough as old boots. Trust me on this one. Been there, done that, almost lost a tooth. I cook the legs in a roasting tin with a little water while preparing everything else, then add stuff and continue cooking. Job done, teeth intact. If bird isn't your thing, try with pork fillets. Should work a treat as well.

As you probably know by now, I rarely measure things when cooking. A bit of this, a heap of that and a splosh of something else is my method of measuring. When it comes to this meal, you want plenty of herbs, as each flavour on its own doesn't have enough umph to make an impact. You don't want to end up with an in your face intense flavour explosion, but it needs to be rich, if you know what I mean. If the recipe you use say a tsp, add a tbsp, at least. The only thing I don't add too much of is garlic. My recipe says 8 cloves, but I think 4 is quite enough. We want to be able to speak to other people without using a megaphone, or being beaten with a stick if we get too close.

To reduce the washing up this time, I decided to serve my partridge cacciatore with ice cube potatoes. You may remember that I made them a couple of weeks ago and although they weren't fabulous, they had potential. This time I added loads more seasoning and that worked. I think they will become a regular feature on our future menus.

To make these two dishes, you need:

Cacciatore

fillets of your choice of bird or pork

2 peppers, roughly chopped

mushrooms, quartered

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chunked

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tin chopped tomatoes

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

salt & pepper

oregano

thyme

parsley

chilli flakes

a slosh of wine: red, white or rose

If you don't have any wine, or don't want it, you can use veg or chicken stock instead.

Ice cube potatoes

potatoes with skin on, diced

a few chunks of butter

1 onion, chopped

4-5 ice cubes

salt & pepper

garlic powder

BBQ spice mix of your choice

1. Get all cacciatore ingredients out.

I forgot the tomato puree for the photo, but I remembered it later, so I used it in the meal.

2. Prepare the potatoes, as they need almost an hour in the oven. Place a sheet of tinfoil on a meshed baking tray. Place the potatoes on the sheet without piling them on top of each other. Sprinkle the chopped onion over the potatoes, followed by plenty of seasoning. When you think you have used enough, add a bit more. Place a few chunks of butter and a handful of ice cubes on top.

3. Place another sheet of tinfoil on top. Fold the edges of both sheets to seal the parcel and stab the top sheet to allow steam to escape. Pop the parcel into the middle of the oven for 60 minutes, 200 degrees. These potatoes can also be cooked on a BBQ, I have been told.

Last time I cooked ice cube potatoes, the oven was at 220 degrees, but I didn't have anything else in there at the time. This time I lowered the temperature, not to burn the cacciatore and gave the potatoes an extra 10 minutes instead.

4. Chop the vegetables.

5. Place the bird fillets in an oven proof dish.

6. Scatter the vegetables on top of the fillets.

7. Chop the onion and garlic cloves.

8. Soften the onion in a little oil. When almost translucent, add the garlic and chilli flakes.

9. Add the tomato puree and stir. Be careful not to burn it,

See, I did remember the puree eventually!

10. Add the chopped tomatoes and all herbs, along with salt and pepper. Mix well, then slosh in the wine and stir into a chunky sauce.

11. Pour the sauce over the fillets and vegetables and pop into the lower part of the oven for 45-60 minutes. Flip the fillets over once, halfway through. The cacciatore should be ready about the same time as the ice cube potatoes.

12. The potatoes are done when they are soft all the way through. Check the ones in the middle, as they take the longest to cook.

13. The cacciatore is done when the bird fillets are cooked through and the carrot chunks are soft enough to eat.

14. Dish up and inhale.

I hope you will enjoy this as much as I did. This dish is so easy and there is really no need to faff with cooking anything but the most basic elements of the sauce on the hob. If you are having dinner guests, you can prepare everything and place it in the fridge before hand. Take it out half an hour prior to cooking, so it isn't fridge cold, then leave it perfect itself in the oven while you are entertaining your guests. If you are cooking for many, remember to make a bigger batch...