Roasted pigeon breast with confit legs, potato purée, ventrèche bacon and lentil sauce
Ingredients (serves four)
4 x 550g squab pigeons
Duck fat for confit
Salt and pepper
60g clarified butter
2-3tbs chicken mousse
12 cloves garlic in their skins
4-8 slices ventrèche (sliced No 2)
50g braised lentils
100ml Madeira sauce
600g puréed potatoes (3 parts Ratte, 2 parts butter, 1 part milk)
Chopped parsley
Method
Cut the legs and wings from the pigeons. Bake them in duck fat till tender (as for a confit). Remove the thigh bones. Flake the meat from the wings and combine with mousse. Stuff the legs, wrap in film and steam for six minutes.
Stew the garlic cloves till tender in clarified butter. Season the breasts and brush with clarified butter. Flash-roast for 10-15 minutes and rest before carving.
Put the bacon between two trays and bake till crisp in a hot oven. Heat lentils and sauce.
Serve the breast and legs with puréed potato, Madeira and lentil sauce, ventréche, parsley and garlic cloves.
- 1991 Cötes du Luberon, Château de l'Isolette (£8 per glass)
Photo © Tom Stockhill
