ROAST WOOD PIGEON WITH WILD MUSHROOM, NEEP FONDANT, RED ONION AND AYRSHIRE BACON CONFIT, MASHED TATTIES, CRISPY FRIED HAGGIS AND A PIGEON BROTH

For the pigeon

1 wood pigeon

50g unsalted butter

2 sprigs of thyme

Bone the wood pigeon and marinade it in the thyme and some oil. Cook the pigeon in a hot pan once cooking of the following elements of the dish have been completed.

 

Crispy fried haggis

300g haggis

2 sheets of brick pastry

1 egg for wash

Break down the haggis in a food processor. Roll it into 15cm lengths approximately 10mm thick.

Half the sheets of brick pastry and brush them with egg wash. Place the haggis on top and roll up tightly. Place them on silicon paper with the join touching the paper and place in the fridge until required.

 

Red onion confit

20ml vegetable oil

100g Ayrshire bacon (streaky bacon would also work) cut into 2mm dice

3 red onions, sliced

100ml port

1tsp redcurrant jelly

3 sprigs of thyme, picked and chopped

Heat the oil in a pan and cook the bacon until lightly coloured. Turn down the heat, add the red onion and cook gently for 10 minutes.

Add the port, redcurrant jelly and thyme. Cook until reduced and adjust the seasoning to taste.

 

Turnip fondant

1 large turnip (yellow swede)

500ml salted water with a pinch of saffron

50g honey

50g butter

Peel and cut the turnip into slices approximately 10mm thick. Boil the water and poach the turnip in it with the honey and butter until cooked.

Allow the turnip to cool then cut the slices into neat rectangles. Scoop out the centre with a parisienne spoon and set aside.

 

Pigeon broth

Pigeon bones

2 large carrots

2 sticks of celery

Half a leek

30g barley

250ml brown chicken stock

30ml whisky

Arrowroot

1tsp chopped chives

Roast the pigeon bones and legs in the oven until golden brown.

Finely dice the carrots, celery and leek and blanch in salted water, then refresh and drain. Cook the barley in boiling water, refresh and drain.

Reduce the stock to intensify the flavour, add half the whisky, adjust the seasoning and thicken with a little arrowroot. Add more whisky if you desire.

Add the barley and vegetables and heat through, finishing with the chives.

 

Mashed potatoes

125g potatoes (2 large potatoes)

25ml double cream

15g unsalted butter

5g seasoning

A pinch of nutmeg

Boil the potatoes in salted water until cooked.

Drain and dry the potatoes out on the stove then mash them in the pan.

Bring the cream and butter briefly to the boil in a pan and beat them into the mash with the nutmeg. Adjust the seasoning to taste.

 

Parma ham crisp

2 slices of Parma ham

10ml vegetable oil

Using a pair of scissors cut each slice into five pieces. Brush each piece with the olive oil and place them on silicon parchment paper.

Place in the oven at 160C/140C fan/gas mark 3 for 20-30 minutes until dry and crisp.

 

PAN-SEARED BREAST OF DUCK, RAW SPICED AND CARAMELISED CAULIFLOWER, OATS AND NUTS, KALE AND BEETROOT WITH A DUCK JUS

Gressingham duck

2 duck breasts on the crown

20ml rapeseed or vegetable oil

2 sprigs of rosemary

2 sprigs of thyme

1 bulb of garlic

100g butter

Bone out and trim the duck breasts. Mix a little oil with half the herbs and marinade the duck in it. Pan sear the duck in a non-stick pan over a medium heat, skin side down, until you render and crisp the fat, then add the remaining herbs and two slightly crushed garlic cloves. Once you’re happy with the colour of the breasts add the butter and baste the meat with it.

Remove the duck from the pan and finish in the oven at 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4 for four to six minutes, depending on size.

 

Duck jus

Bones and trimmings of the duck

1 carrot

2 stalks of celery

Half a leek

1 white onion

20ml rapeseed or vegetable oil

Half a bulb of garlic

2 sprigs of rosemary

2 sprigs of thyme

2.5l brown chicken stock

100g butter

Place the duck bones into the oven at 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4 and brown for 10 minutes.

Roughly chop the vegetables and place them in a pressure cooker with a little of the oil, and slowly caramelise. Once the vegetables have a good colour add the garlic, herbs, browned bones and stock. Place the lid on the pressure cooker and cook for 15 minutes.

Once cooked, pass the liquor into a wide saute pan and reduce by two-thirds. Once reduced add the butter, stir well and pass the sauce into sauce jugs.

 

Raw spiced cauliflower

20g coriander seeds

Half a cauliflower

20g chopped chives

Roast the coriander seeds in a small saute pan. Blitz the seeds in a mixer, add the cauliflower and blitz until crumbly. Remove the contents from the mixer, adjust the seasoning, mix in the chives and set aside.

 

Caramelised cauliflower

Half a cauliflower

2 sprigs of rosemary

2 sprigs of thyme

Half a bulb of garlic

100g butter

1 sheet of silicon paper (cartouche) 

Break the cauliflower into florets then cut each floret in half and place them flat side down in a non-stick pan. Add the herbs, garlic and half the butter to the pan.

Cover the pan with the cartouche and cook carefully on the stove, adding the remainder of the butter if needed. 

 

Oats and nuts

50g hazelnuts

100g porridge oats

1 banana shallot, chopped

25g honey

25g butter

2 sprigs of rosemary

2 sprigs of thyme

Roast the hazelnuts in the oven at 160C/140C fan/gas mark 3 for five minutes. Once roasted remove the skins using a dry cloth then blitz the nuts in the food processor. Place them on a tray with the oats, shallot, honey, butter and herbs and bake in the oven at 160C/140C fan/gas mark 3 for 10-12 minutes.

 

Beetroot

2 beetroot

2 sprigs of thyme

2 sprigs of rosemary

50g unsalted butter

Cook the beetroot in salted boiling water with the herbs until done. Once cool, cut and shape then finish in a pan with a little butter.