Ingredients

• 6 crowns of pigeon (the two breasts attached to the bone; ask your butcher to prepare these)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 50g/2oz butter
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• pinch powdered mace
• 1 shallot
• finely chopped
• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 150ml/¼ pint chicken stock or pigeon stock
• 25g/1oz butter
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp fresh flatleaf parsley
• chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh chervil
• chopped
• 450g/1lb potatoes
• peeled
• cut into cylinders
• then finely sliced into discs
• 110g/4oz clarified butter
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 spring onions
• 50g/2oz butter
• 225g/8oz peas
• cooked

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180C/365F/Gas 4.
• For the pigeon
• season the pigeon crowns well with salt and freshly ground black pepper
• then rub each crown all over with the butter and mace and set aside for 30 minutes.
• Heat a large ovenproof frying pan until hot
• add the oil and sear the pigeon crowns on each side
• until golden-brown all over
• then place into the oven and roast for 12-15 minutes
• or until cooked to your liking. Remove from the oven
• remove from the pan and leave to rest in a warm place for five minutes.
• For the sauce
• pour out the excess fat from the pan
• then add the shallots and fry over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the sherry vinegar and white wine vinegar. Bring to the boil and reduce the liquid by half.
• Add the stock and boil again to reduce the liquid by a third.
• Add the butter and season
• to taste
• with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Meanwhile
• carefully cut the pigeon breasts away from the bone.
• Strain the sauce into a clean pan and use half to baste the pigeon breasts.
• Add the parsley and chervil to the remaining sauce in the pan and stir.
• For the potato cake
• increase the oven temperature to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
• Place the potatoes into a bowl and add the clarified butter and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Heat four 15cm/6in diameter ovenproof frying pans and arrange the potato slices into the base of the pans
• so that they cover the base of each pan
• overlapping each other slightly. Repeat for three layers of potato discs in each pan
• then transfer to the oven to cook for 10-15 minutes
• or until the potatoes are golden-brown and cooked through. (You can use one larger pan to create a single
• larger potato cake. NB: this may take longer to cook.)
• For the peas
• place the spring onions into a pan of boiling water and blanch for one minute. Drain the spring onions and refresh in iced water
• then drain again.
• Heat a frying pan
• until just warm
• then add the butter
• peas and blanched spring onions. Cook for two minutes over a low heat.
• To serve
• carefully turn the potato cakes out into the centre of each of four plates. Place a spoonful of the peas and spring onions into the centre of each potato cake. Place three pigeon breasts on top of each pile of spring onions/peas and pour the remaining sauce over.