Recipe - Pot-Roasted Pigeon Enriched With Chocolate

2 Young ovenready wood
pigeons
15 g Unsalted butter; plus an
extra knob
; (1/2oz)
1 Red onion; washed and
chopped,
; skin left on
1 Carrot; washed and chopped,
; skin left on
1 Leek; washed and trimmed
; and then chopped
1 Clove garlic; peeled and
crushed
4 Sprigs fresh thyme
2 Fresh bay leaves
One half Bottle gutsy red wine; such
as Vega
; Sicilia from Spain
15 g Dark bitter chocolate;
grated (1/2oz)

TO SERVE
Few leaves of crisp green
cabbage; shredded
1 tablespoon Pine kernels
A splash of olive oil
Couple of rashers of crisply
cooked
; streaky bacon
1 Crushed clove garlic
3 Juniper berries; crushed
Seasoning

Preheat the oven to 200øC/400øF/gas mark 6

Mix together the butter, crushed garlic and thyme leaves stripped from 2
sprigs of thyme.

Lift the skin over the breast and smear the herb butter between the breasts
and the skin. Season the pigeon. Sear the bird all over in a preheated
cast pan or heavy frying pan. Remove the birds and add the chopped
vegetables with a little knob of butter to lightly brown them.

Pour in the wine and bring to the boil. Add the rest of the thyme and the
bay leaves and sit the pigeon upside down on the vegetables, basting them
with the wine. Sitting the pigeon upside down allows the juices from the
back to drip into the breasts and keeps them moist.

Potroast in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes until the breast are
cooked but still quite pink you'll need to check this because it depends
on how plump the breasts are. Remove the breasts and keep warm allowing the
flesh to rest and tenderise.

Break up the carcasses and add to the roasting tin. Bring to the boil and
press the juices from the vegetables and the carcasses into the liquor.
Sieve into a clean pan pressing the residue through with the back of a
wooden spoon.

Over a gently heat, whisk in the grated chocolate to thicken the sauce and
to give it a gloss and an indefinable depth of flavour. Season carefully.

The cabbage: Brown the pine kernels in the olive oil in a large pan or wok.
Add the crushed garlic and juniper berries and then the bacon broken into
small pieces. Add the shredded cabbage and quickly stirfry until the
cabbage wilts but is still crips, you may need a splash of water but it
depends on the cabbage and how quickly it wilts. Season.

To serve: Serve the breaast cut or sliced up on a bed of cabbage with the sauce
poured over and some parsnip mash.

Converted by MC_Buster.

Per serving: 262 Calories (kcal); 13g Total Fat; (41% calories from fat);
4g Protein; 36g Carbohydrate; 33mg Cholesterol; 50mg Sodium Food Exchanges:
0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 6 One half Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 2
One half Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Converted by MM_Buster v2.0n.