appetite magazine
Roasted wood pigeon with confit pigeon pithivier, mushroom fricassee, kale and red wine-baked figs
 
 
Ingredients
  • Pigeon pithiveier:
  • 4 pigeon breasts and 8 legs
  • 10ml vegetable oil
  • 1 carrot, peeled and diced
  • 1 stick celery, peeled and diced
  • 1 leek, peeled and diced
  • 1 onion, peeled & diced
  • 2 sprigs thyme
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed
  • 20ml red wine
  • 1 litre chicken stock
  • salt and ground black pepper
  • 1 banana shallot, peeled, diced
  • 25ml tarragon vinegar
  • 320g ready to roll puff pastry
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Mushroom fricasée:
  • 1 shallot, peeled and chopped
  • 40g unsalted butter
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled, crushed
  • 400g mixed wild mushrooms (chanterelles, girolles etc.)
  • 100ml dry white wine
  • 50ml double cream
  • handful flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • juice of ¼ lemon
  • Figs:
  • 4 figs, halved
  • 1 sprig tyhme
  • 20ml port
  • Pigeon breasts:
  • 4 pigeon breasts
  • 20ml vegetable oil
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled, crushed
  • 2 sprigs thyme
  • salt and ground black pepper
  • 10ml vegetable oil
  • 10g unsalted butter
  • Kale:
  • 100g fresh kale, washed
  • 25g unsalted butter
Method
  1. Pigeon pithiveier: Preheat oven to 180C/Gas 4.
  2. In a medium/hot frying pan, fry the pigeon breasts and legs in vegetable oil until lightly coloured.
  3. Add the carrot, celery, leek, onion, thyme and garlic to the pan and cook out.
  4. Deglaze with red wine and put the contents of pan in an oven-proof dish.
  5. Cover with chicken stock and braise in the oven for 2 hrs.
  6. Remove from the oven, remove meat and flake into a bowl.
  7. Season. Sauté shallot, add tarragon vinegar and cook out.
  8. Add meat to pan and mix well.
  9. Allow mix to cool, then roll into 25g balls and set aside to rest.
  10. Preheat oven to 190C/Gas 5.
  11. Lay out pastry sheets and cut four 8cm discs and four 11cm discs.
  12. Place a ball in centre of each smaller disc, wash with egg and cover with a larger disc.
  13. Press around the edges, removing all excess air.
  14. Recut edge with the smaller disc cutter.
  15. Wash with egg and bake 7-10 mins.
  16. Mushroom fricasée: In a large frying pan over a medium heat, soften shallot in 1 tsp butter for 30 secs without colouring.
  17. Increase heat to high and add garlic and mushrooms.
  18. Season with salt.
  19. Once all the moisture is out of the pan, add wine.
  20. Cover and cook at a full boil for 1 min.
  21. Add remaining butter, cream and chopped parsley, cook 10-30 secs.
  22. Taste, season, add lemon juice to suit.
  23. Figs: Preheat oven to 200C/Gas 6.
  24. In a hot frying pan, sear figs flesh side down until golden.
  25. Turn figs over, add thyme and deglaze with port.
  26. Place in oven for 3 mins.
  27. Pigeon breasts: In a bowl, combine oil, garlic and thyme and marinate pigeon breasts for 1hr.
  28. Season meat with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  29. In a medium/hot pan, warm a little oil and the butter and leave the butter to foam.
  30. Place breast in pan skin side down with garlic and thyme from the marinade and cook for 1 min until golden.
  31. Turn meat over and cook for 2 mins, basting with the butter in the pan.
  32. Remove meat from pan and rest for 2 mins before serving.
  33. Kale: Put a pan of salted water on to boil and once boiling add kale for 1 min.
  34. Remove, place on paper towel to remove excess water.
  35. Put in a bowl and add butter.
  36. Serve: Place pithivier off centre on a plate and rest fig to one side.
  37. Place kale and mushroom fricasée between the fig and pithivier.
  38. Slice pigeon breast and place on top, drizzle over red wine syrup from the figs and serve.
Recipe by appetite magazine at https://www.appetitemag.co.uk/roasted-wood-pigeon-with-confit-pigeon-pithivier-mushroom-fricassee-kale-and-red-wine-baked-figs/