Pigeon Breast, Pearly Barley with Bacon and Leeks, Honey Roasted Carrots and Swede

I’d never cooked pigeon before – what a tasty bird! Similar to venison or lean beef (and, in my opinion, far more interesting than both) pigeons are a plentiful source of delicious meat, and cheap as a result – we picked up 2 ‘oven ready’ pigeons for £5 at the farmer’s market. You can cook pigeons on the bone, either roasted or casseroled, but I chose to de-breast the birds with a sharp knife (there’s not much meat other than the breasts themselves). The carcasses weren’t wasted though – they got 10 mins in a hot oven and then straight into the stockpot with carrot, onion, celery, leek tops, bay leaves, black peppercorns, parsley and thyme and simmered for a couple of hours. Half of the resulting stock was then used for the pearl barley and red wine sauce, the other half sits in the freezer awaiting further instructions!

For the pigeon:
2 wood pigeons, breasts only, carcasses made into stock

For the Pearl Barley:
200g pearl barley
A rasher or two of bacon
1 leek, chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
Some cabbage, shredded and blanched
Butter and rapeseed oil
Flat leaf parsley
Pigeon stock (approx. 400ml)

For the honey roast carrot and swede:
2 large carrots
1 swede
1 onion
Runny honey
Rapeseed oil

For the red wine sauce:
Half a glass of red wine
A splash of pigeon stock
1 tablespoon of redcurrant jelly

Dice the carrot and swede, thickly slice the onion, place on a baking tray, season well with salt and pepper and drizzle with rapeseed oil. Roast at 200C for about 45 mins or until the veg starts to caramelise. Meanwhile, for the pearl barley, slice the bacon into lardons and fry in plenty of butter and rapeseed oil. When it starts to brown, add the chopped leek and garlic, fry for a couple of minutes then add the pearl barley and stir to coat in the oil. Pour in about half the stock, cover with a lid and allow it to simmer. When most of the stock has been absorbed add a splash more, repeat until the barley is tender.

Get a frying pan on a high heat. Season the pigeon breasts with plenty of salt and pepper, and rub with rapeseed oil. Add a little oil to the pan and fry the breasts for 5 minutes, turning every minute or so. Remove from the pan and leave to rest on a plate, covered in foil. Keep the pan on the heat, pour in the red wine and stir to deglaze. Add in a ladelful of pigeon stock and a tablespoon of redcurrant jelly and simmer for about 10 minutes until reduced. Get the roast veg out of the oven and drizzle a little honey all over the veg. Return to the oven for about 10 mins until glazed. Add the blanched cabbage to the pearl barley, season with salt and pepper to taste, and stir in a knob of butter and some chopped parsley. Slice the pigeon breasts at an angle – they should be nice and pink in the middle. Serve on top of the pearl barley, scatter the honey roast veg around it and drizzle the pigeon with the reduced sauce from the frying pan.

I was really chuffed with this one – pigeon is an absolute delight, and the earthy, autumnal flavours of the barley and veg seem to complement it very well.