Wood Pigeons Braised in Red Wine

Cut the rind off the pancetta and cut into lardons, trim and peel the baby onions, and peel the mushrooms and cut into thick slices. Season the pigeons liberally with salt and pepper.

Quickly brown the pancetta lardons in a little olive oil in a frying pan and then transfer using a slotted spoon to a casserole that will just contain the pigeons. Brown the pigeons on all sides in the frying pan and add them to the casserole. Put the onions into the pan and some more oil if required and quickly brown over a high heat and then add them to the casserole.

Pour over enough red wine to cover two thirds of the pigeons, add some stalks of rosemary, and bring to simmering over a high heat. Turn the heat down, cover the casserole, simmer for 45 minutes turning the pigeons every 15 minutes. Meanwhile cook the mushrooms in a little butter and season with a little cayenne pepper.

To prepare the cabbage, peel and chop the onion into a moderately small dice, add to a thick bottomed pan along with a couple of tablespoonfuls of olive oil, and soften over a low heat. Lightly crush the juniper berries in a pestle and mortar and add to the onions. Cut the cabbage into quarters, remove the central core and roughly cut into slices. When the onions are soft, stir in the cabbage and cook covered over a medium heat covered for about eight minutes stirring from time to time. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

When the pigeons are done, take them out of the casserole, put on a chopping board, and cut off the breast, wing and leg in one piece from each side  Picture   and keep warm discarding the carcasses.

Fish out and discard the rosemary from the casserole. Make a beurre manié with one tablespoonful of butter and one of flour and stir into the casserole to thicken the sauce. Add the mushrooms and then re-season the sauce in the casserole if necessary, re-add the pigeon pieces and warm through  Picture  .

Put a portion of cabbage on to serving plates, add the sides of pigeon, and spoon over some sauce along with some onions and mushrooms. Serve immediately  Zoom  .