I have been meaning to make this for a while and finally got around to it with yet another COVID lockdown staycation. I've had set aside a good part of the day for this and even then, it still took a bit longer than I expected. It was decadent and definitely a special treat for one of those very special occasions!
Difficulty: High
Time: 4 hours
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Pigeon En Croute
- 4 pigeon breasts
- 2 sheets puff pastry
- 4 wide slices of prosciutto
- 100g spinach leaves
- mushroom duxelles (recipe below)
- 1 egg
- salt
- pepper
Mushroom Duxelles
- 600g Swiss brown mushrooms finely chopped
- 5g rehydrated porcini mushroom
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp shallots finely diced
- 2 tsp garlic mince
- 6 tbsp Madeira wine
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp fresh tarragon finely chopped
Truffle Jus
- 2 pigeon carcasses cut into smaller pieces
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/2 cup Madeira wine
- 2 1/2 cup unsalted chicken stock
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 10g porcini mushroom rehydrated with liquid reserved
- 2 tsp truffle oil
- 4 tsp fresh shaved truffle
- 4 tbsp butter
- pepper
- salt
Mashed Potato
- 500g Dutch cream potato
- 125g butter
- 125g full cream milk
- salt
Garnish
- fresh truffle
Method
1. Start making the jus by browning the pigeon carcasses in a saucepan with some oil over high heat until golden brown, make sure that there is plenty of space in the pot and it's not overcrowded. Take it out once ready.
2. Add the garlic and shallots into the same pot, fry until fragrant and translucent. Add the Madeira wine to deglaze, then add the pigeon carcasses, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, chicken stock, porcini and chicken stock. Bring to boil, then simmer with lid on for 3 hours.
3. In a pot, place the potatoes with skin on with enough hot water to cover and cook it in the pot until it's cooked through. Depending on the size of the potato this would take 30 minutes to 1 hour.
4. To make the mushroom duxelles, add the shallot and garlic in a pan with the butter, cook over medium high heat until soft and fragrant. Add the chopped mushrooms and porcini and fry until most of the liquid has evaporated. This will take about 8-10 minutes. Add the Madeira wine, and cook until the liquid has fully evaporated before adding the vinegar and cook it further for another minute or two. Let it cool and set aside.
5. Blanch the spinach leaves in hot water for 30 seconds. Take it out and place it in an ice bath. Dry it well on kitchen paper towel careful not to break the leaves. 7
6. Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees fan forced.
7. Pass the pigeon stock through a sieve. Turn it on high heat to reduce until there is 1 cup of liquid remaining. It should look like a glaze. Add the fresh truffle, truffle oil and gradually incorporate the butter, season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.
8. Cut each of the puff pastry into half. Line up a slice of prosciutto in the middle of the pastry, followed by a layer of the mushroom duxelles, a layer of the spinach leaves flattened. Season the pigeon breast well, and place a piece towards one end of the pastry length ways. Fold the other half of the pastry with all the toppings over, seal the edges careful not to leave any air pockets and trim away the excess. Repeat for the other 3 breasts.
9. Mix the egg in a bowl well, brush the egg mixture generously on the pastry. Place it on the oven and cook it until it reaches an internal temperature of 57 degrees. Rotate the tray once during cooking to ensure that it cooks evenly. Take it out of the oven once it's cooked and let it rest for 10 minutes.
10. Make the potato mash by passing the cooked potato through a drum sieve. Incorporate melted butter and warm milk. Mix well and season to taste with salt. and set aside.
11. To plate, slice the pigeon en croute into half and place it on a plate. Serve it with the truffle jus, mashed potato and extra truffle as garnish. Enjoy!