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For 6 people.
Ingredients
pigeon
40g butter
350g smoked lardons or
bacon rashers, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled &
roughly chopped (but not too
big)
1 large onion, peeled (reserve
skin & trimmings for stock) &
finely chopped
1 bay leaf
4 cloves
½ tbsp chopped thyme leaves
(reserve stalks for stock)
1 tbsp malt vinegar
Breasts from 6 pigeons,
carcasses reserved for stock
3 tbsp plain flour
salt
Stock
1 tbsp sunflower oil
10 black peppercorns
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
Flaked sea salt (optional)
Pastry
250g plain flour, plus extra for
dusting
1 tsp crumbled flaked
sea salt
125g butter, frozen for at least
1 hour, coarsely grated
85–100ml cold water
1 medium free-range egg, beaten.
Method
To make the stock, start by chopping the reserved pigeon carcasses
into three with a large, heavy knife. Heat the oil in a large saucepan
over a medium heat. Throw in the carcasses and brown them well,
then pour in enough water to cover the bones (about 1.25 litres). Add
the peppercorns, skin and trimmings from the onion and the stripped
stalks from the thyme you will use in the pie filling. Bring to a gentle
simmer and cook for an hour with the lid off (after this time you would
be hard pushed to extract any more flavour from the bones). Strain
the stock into a bowl, then return it to the saucepan and reduce it to
500ml. Season it with the Worcestershire sauce and salt, if needed,
then leave it to cool. The stock should be delicious in its own right.
While the stock is doing its thing, make the pastry. Mix the flour and
salt in a large bowl and stir in the butter with a round-bladed knife.
Slowly add enough of the water to bring the mixture together into
a soft dough. Turn out on to a floured work surface and knead very
lightly. Form into a flattish ball and wrap in baking paper. Chill in the
fridge for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the pie filling. Take a large frying pan and drop in
25g of the butter. When it has melted, add the bacon, carrots and
onion with the bay leaf, cloves and thyme leaves. Cook all together
over a medium–low heat, stirring occasionally, until the carrots and
onion have become tender (about 15 minutes). Add the vinegar and
cook until it has evaporated. Put the contents of the pan in a bowl to
one side. Wipe out the pan with kitchen paper.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/Gas 6. Pull the skin from the
pigeon breasts and discard, then chop the breasts into large chunks,
about three pieces per breast. (The size is important as, chopped
smaller, they would overcook by the time the pastry is done and will
be tasty but tough.) Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add some
salt, combining everything together briefly. Toss the pigeon pieces in
the seasoned flour until well covered.
Melt the remaining butter in a large frying pan and when it is smoking
fry the pigeon bits hard, for no more than 2 minutes, tossing regularly
so as to brown the pieces evenly on all sides. Again they need to
colour fast so as not to spend too much time in the pan, so really
make sure the pan and butter are truly hot. Combine the pigeon
pieces with the carrot, bacon and onion. Place a pie bird in the middle
of a 1.25-litre pie dish. Add the filling; it should come slightly above
the level of the rim to prevent the pastry from sagging. Pour over the
cooled stock so that it comes up to just below the rim of the dish.
Take the pastry from the fridge about 15 minutes before using it. Roll
it out on a floured work surface to slightly thicker than a £1 coin and
5cm larger than the pie dish. Brush the rim of the dish with beaten
egg. Cut two or three 2cm-wide strips from around the edge of the
pastry and press these on to the rim all the way around. Brush with
more egg and carefully lift the remaining pastry over a rolling pin and
on to the pie dish, making a small slit with the point of a knife to allow
the pie funnel to pass through the pastry. Press the edges to seal,
then trim neatly. Crimp the edge, if you like, to give the pie a decorative
finish. Glaze with more egg. Bake the pie on a baking tray until its roof
is dark golden brown and the filling is hot (about 30–35 minutes).
Ingredients
pigeon
40g butter
350g smoked lardons or
bacon rashers, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled &
roughly chopped (but not too
big)
1 large onion, peeled (reserve
skin & trimmings for stock) &
finely chopped
1 bay leaf
4 cloves
½ tbsp chopped thyme leaves
(reserve stalks for stock)
1 tbsp malt vinegar
Breasts from 6 pigeons,
carcasses reserved for stock
3 tbsp plain flour
salt
Stock
1 tbsp sunflower oil
10 black peppercorns
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
Flaked sea salt (optional)
Pastry
250g plain flour, plus extra for
dusting
1 tsp crumbled flaked
sea salt
125g butter, frozen for at least
1 hour, coarsely grated
85–100ml cold water
1 medium free-range egg, beaten.
Method
To make the stock, start by chopping the reserved pigeon carcasses
into three with a large, heavy knife. Heat the oil in a large saucepan
over a medium heat. Throw in the carcasses and brown them well,
then pour in enough water to cover the bones (about 1.25 litres). Add
the peppercorns, skin and trimmings from the onion and the stripped
stalks from the thyme you will use in the pie filling. Bring to a gentle
simmer and cook for an hour with the lid off (after this time you would
be hard pushed to extract any more flavour from the bones). Strain
the stock into a bowl, then return it to the saucepan and reduce it to
500ml. Season it with the Worcestershire sauce and salt, if needed,
then leave it to cool. The stock should be delicious in its own right.
While the stock is doing its thing, make the pastry. Mix the flour and
salt in a large bowl and stir in the butter with a round-bladed knife.
Slowly add enough of the water to bring the mixture together into
a soft dough. Turn out on to a floured work surface and knead very
lightly. Form into a flattish ball and wrap in baking paper. Chill in the
fridge for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the pie filling. Take a large frying pan and drop in
25g of the butter. When it has melted, add the bacon, carrots and
onion with the bay leaf, cloves and thyme leaves. Cook all together
over a medium–low heat, stirring occasionally, until the carrots and
onion have become tender (about 15 minutes). Add the vinegar and
cook until it has evaporated. Put the contents of the pan in a bowl to
one side. Wipe out the pan with kitchen paper.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/Gas 6. Pull the skin from the
pigeon breasts and discard, then chop the breasts into large chunks,
about three pieces per breast. (The size is important as, chopped
smaller, they would overcook by the time the pastry is done and will
be tasty but tough.) Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add some
salt, combining everything together briefly. Toss the pigeon pieces in
the seasoned flour until well covered.
Melt the remaining butter in a large frying pan and when it is smoking
fry the pigeon bits hard, for no more than 2 minutes, tossing regularly
so as to brown the pieces evenly on all sides. Again they need to
colour fast so as not to spend too much time in the pan, so really
make sure the pan and butter are truly hot. Combine the pigeon
pieces with the carrot, bacon and onion. Place a pie bird in the middle
of a 1.25-litre pie dish. Add the filling; it should come slightly above
the level of the rim to prevent the pastry from sagging. Pour over the
cooled stock so that it comes up to just below the rim of the dish.
Take the pastry from the fridge about 15 minutes before using it. Roll
it out on a floured work surface to slightly thicker than a £1 coin and
5cm larger than the pie dish. Brush the rim of the dish with beaten
egg. Cut two or three 2cm-wide strips from around the edge of the
pastry and press these on to the rim all the way around. Brush with
more egg and carefully lift the remaining pastry over a rolling pin and
on to the pie dish, making a small slit with the point of a knife to allow
the pie funnel to pass through the pastry. Press the edges to seal,
then trim neatly. Crimp the edge, if you like, to give the pie a decorative
finish. Glaze with more egg. Bake the pie on a baking tray until its roof
is dark golden brown and the filling is hot (about 30–35 minutes).
