This dish is a great way to enjoy the game season. It’s elegant and perfect for a dinner party without giving yourself too much work to do – just scale the quantities accordingly.
Serves 2
Ingredients
- ¼ Small Savoy cabbage, shredded
- 2 Large carrots, sliced into batons
- Handful of Brussels sprouts
- 50ml Double cream
- Few sprigs of thyme
- 2 Cloves of garlic, peeled
- Olive oil
- 2 Wood pigeon breasts
- 100g Unsalted butter
- 2 Rashers smoked bacon
- Salt and pepper, to season
Method
1. Blanche the Savoy cabbage in salted boiling water for a couple of minutes then remove and plunge into iced water. Repeat with the carrots then put both vegetables to one side.
2. Prepare the Brussels sprouts by removing the dark outer leaves. Use the lighter, unblemished inner leaves, trying to keep them whole as you remove them. Blanche in the boiling salted water and put into the ice bath.
3. Put the cream into a pan along with half the thyme and garlic cloves and bring up to the boil then immediately turn down to a low simmer. Leave to cook until the volume is reduced by half.
4. Meanwhile, heat a heavy bottomed frying pan with a little oil. When hot, add the two pigeon breasts to the pan and sear for a couple of minutes on each side. They should be rare by this point. Add two knobs of butter to the pan and when it starts to bubble add the remaining thyme and baste the pigeon. Remove the breasts and rest them in a warm place for about five minutes.
5. Put another glug of oil into the pan over a medium heat. Add the bacon and stir frequently, frying until crisp. Add the blanched sprout leaves to the pan along with a knob of butter and cook until warmed through, basting with the butter regularly. 6.When the cream is reduced add the carrots and cabbage to the pan and stir to coat; there should be just enough liquid to cover the vegetables. Test for seasoning and adjust to taste. Slice the breasts into three or four pieces and coat with any juices then plate the three elements and serve immediately.
Recipe: Drogo Montagu
