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Serves 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking : 5-10 minutes
4 pigeon breasts
2 tbsp plain flour
400g good black pudding
200g smoked streaky bacon, cut into ½ cm dice
25 g butter
Bottle of best balsamic vinegar
Bottle of best extra virgin olive oil
Bottle of sherry vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
2 large handfuls of peppery leaves ( I suggest Frisee, watercress and rocket )
Get a good, heavy frying pan and stick it on the gas or Aga. Let it get really good and hot, then flour the pigeon breasts. Pour a tablespoon of oil into the pan and add the butter. When it foams, add the pigeon breasts. Cook them for about 90 seconds on each side, then remove. Tip out the excess oil at this point, and add the bacon. Sizzle the bacon for a couple of minutes, then crumble the black pudding into the pan. Cook them together for another couple of minutes, then remove and drain the resulting rubble on kitchen paper.
Put the pan back on the heat and pour in 4 tbsps or so of balsamic vinegar, and 2 of sherry vinegar. Reduce this down to 2 tbsp worth of liquid and add the pigeon breasts back in to coat them in the sticky stuff. You are now ready to assemble.
Place your salad leaves in a mixing bowl and anoint with lemon juice and olive oil. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Place a ball of salad in the middle of a big plate and strew the rubble of bacon and black pudding around the edges. Slice the warm pigeon breasts into 6 slices ( it should be pink throughout ) and lay artistically on top of the greenery. Now collect the tablespoon or so of balsamic reduction from the pan, mix with a little lemon juice and olive oil, and dribble it over the plate.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking : 5-10 minutes
4 pigeon breasts
2 tbsp plain flour
400g good black pudding
200g smoked streaky bacon, cut into ½ cm dice
25 g butter
Bottle of best balsamic vinegar
Bottle of best extra virgin olive oil
Bottle of sherry vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
2 large handfuls of peppery leaves ( I suggest Frisee, watercress and rocket )
Get a good, heavy frying pan and stick it on the gas or Aga. Let it get really good and hot, then flour the pigeon breasts. Pour a tablespoon of oil into the pan and add the butter. When it foams, add the pigeon breasts. Cook them for about 90 seconds on each side, then remove. Tip out the excess oil at this point, and add the bacon. Sizzle the bacon for a couple of minutes, then crumble the black pudding into the pan. Cook them together for another couple of minutes, then remove and drain the resulting rubble on kitchen paper.
Put the pan back on the heat and pour in 4 tbsps or so of balsamic vinegar, and 2 of sherry vinegar. Reduce this down to 2 tbsp worth of liquid and add the pigeon breasts back in to coat them in the sticky stuff. You are now ready to assemble.
Place your salad leaves in a mixing bowl and anoint with lemon juice and olive oil. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Place a ball of salad in the middle of a big plate and strew the rubble of bacon and black pudding around the edges. Slice the warm pigeon breasts into 6 slices ( it should be pink throughout ) and lay artistically on top of the greenery. Now collect the tablespoon or so of balsamic reduction from the pan, mix with a little lemon juice and olive oil, and dribble it over the plate.
