Salad of wood pigeon with soft poached eggs and damsons

This salad makes a magnificent dish that is suitable for a supper.  The flavours are fantastic and it is fittingly satisfying as a main dish.

Preparation Time: 15 Mins

Cooking Time: 20 Mins

Total Time: 35 Mins

Ingredients

For 4 servings…

For the fried ingredients

50 gms            Bacon  - lardons       

                     Olive oil     

4                    Pigeon breasts  - skin on         

1                    Onion  - sliced finely 

50 gms            Butter       

2 slices            Bread  - cut into 1 cm cubes     

For the damson vinaigrette

50 ml              Vinegar  - balsamic   

1 tbs               Olive oil     

200 ml             Water       

20 gms            Sugar       

100 gms           Damsons  - stoned    

For the poached eggs

1 tbs               Vinegar     

4                    Eggs         

1 handful          Salad leaves            

1                    Apple  - cored and sliced finely 

Method

To fry the bacon, pigeon breasts, onion and croûtons…

Fry the bacon in a heavy-based pan with a little drizzle of oil until golden and crisp.  Then take out of the pan and drain on kitchen paper.

Fry the breasts in the same pan for two minutes on each side colouring gently until the skin is crisp.  Remove from the pan and allow to rest on a warm plate.

In the same frying pan, add the onion and fry for 15 minutes until really soft, golden and caramelised.  Remove the onion and set them aside with the pigeon.

Add the butter to the same pan and allow to foam.  Add the bread cubes and cook until golden and crisp, then remove them and allow to cool.

To prepare the damson vinaigrette…

Put the balsamic vinegar in a small pan and reduce by half, until thick and syrupy.  Remove from the heat and whisk in a little olive oil.

Put 200ml water and the sugar in a pan along with the damsons.  Bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 2 minutes, until the fruit is lightly poached.  Take out the damsons and add them to the balsamic dressing - along with 1 tbs of the fruit’s poaching liquid.

To poach the eggs…

Add the white wine vinegar to the pan of rapidly boiling water and gently lower in the cracked eggs one at a time. Poach for 3 minutes until the whites are set, but the yolks are still runny.

To construct the salad…

Mix the salad leaves with the caramelised onions and toss gently.

Arrange the salad leaves and onions on a large platter or four individual plates, put the sliced pigeon breasts, poached eggs, pancetta, finely sliced apple and croutons on top and drizzle the dressing with the damsons around the outside.

Wine recommendations

A red wine.

Conventional

     Beaujolais Villages

Interesting

     Gaillac

     Hautes Côtes de Nuits

     Mercurey