Serves 4
Ingredients
For the Pigeon
- 4 anjou pigeons
- 4 cherries
- 4 mini red beetroots
- 100ml beetroot juice
- 10ml red wine vinegar
- 20g butter
- 80g cream of almonds (recipe below)
- 40g crème of umeboshi (wakayama) (recipe below)
- 50g brunoise of Lardo di colonnata
- 50g toasted almonds
- 20g gel of cherries with elderflower (recipe below)
- 4 nasturtium leaves
For the Pigeon Gravy Royal
- 40 kg pigeon or duck carcasses
- 10kg bouquet vegetables
- 800g shallots
- 100g garlic
- 2 red chilies
- 2 vanilla pods
- 100g thyme
- 500ml crème de cassis
- 250ml red port
- 500ml cherry juice
- 1000ml jus de veau
- oil
- 200g duck liver terrine
For the Almond Crème
- 1000g Jerusalem artichoke slices
- 200g butter
- 200ml cream
- 500g white almond
- 950ml milk
- 15ml amaretto syrup (Monin)
For the Crème of Umeboshi
- 50g umeboshi from wakayama
- 500g cherries
- 10g dried hibiscus flowers
For the Cherry Gel
- 1500ml cherry juice
- 150ml elderflower syrup
- 14g agar agar
Method
For the Pigeon Gravy Royal
- To make the stock, roast the carcasses in the oven until nice an brown.
- Place the carcasses in a big pot and cover with water.
- Bring to a simmer and then discard the fat.
- Add the sliced vegetables and cook for 8 hours, then sieve.
- Reduce the stock to a thick glaze. Then set aside.
- Slice the shallots and gently fry them in oil.
- Add the garlic, red chili, thyme and vanilla and then fry for 5 minutes.
- Add the crème de cassis, red port and cherry juice and then reduce.
- Add the jus de veau and 4000ml of the pigeon glaze.
- Cook gently for 2 hours, then mix in the duck liver terrine.
- Pass through a sieve and keep in containers until needed. Makes 6 liters.
For the Almond Crème
- Make a Jerusalem artichoke cream gently glazing the sliced Jerusalem artichoke with butter and a pinch of salt in a pan for 10 minutes without coloring the artichokes.
- Add 200ml of the milk and the cream and close with a cartouche.
- Cook for 20 minutes until soft, then transfer to a thermoblender and blend until you form a smooth cream. Set aside.
- To make the almond cream, place the white almonds in a pan together with 750ml of milk and bring to a boil, then transfer to a thermoblender.
- Add 500g of the Jerusalem Artichoke cream and the amaretto syrup and then blend on high speed until smooth,
- Pass through a sieve and then place in piping bags.
For the Crème of Umeboshi
- Wash the cherries and place them in a pan with the hibiscus flowers.
- Cook to make a compote, then pass through a sieve.
- Unpit the umeboshi and put with the cherry puree into a blender.
- Blend together to form a fine puree and pass through a sieve again.
For the Cherry Gel
- Reduce the cherry juice to 850ml.
- Add the elderflower syrup and agar agar and cook for 2 minutes.
- Put the mixture in a container and let it set in the fridge.
- Mix with a blender until smooth and place in bottles.
For the Pigeon
- Cook the mini red beetroots in water for 10 minutes, then refresh in ice water and peel them and cut in half.
- Heat the reduced beetroot juice with red wine vinegar and butter just before serving. Then add the split cherry’s in the last 10 seconds to warm and glaze them.
- Clean the pigeons and discard the insides. Keep the bones to use for the gravy.
- Brown the pigeons in oil and put on a tray, season with salt and blowtorch to remove any last feathers.
- Cook the pigeon in the oven for 28minutes at 65°.
- Once cooked, rest the pigeons for 5 minutes and then cut off the filets.
- Brush the skin side with umeboshi crème and cover with the almond mixture.
- To make the almond mixture, mix the toasted almonds in a blender until crunchy, flame torch the brunoise of lardo di colonnata and mix together.
- Reheat the pigeon covered with the almond mixture under a grill.
- Place the filets on the plate together with the almond cream, cherry gel, beetroots, cherries and nasturtium leaves. Serve with the gravy.
Recipe Courtesy of Jonathan Zandbergen of Michelin-starred Restaurant Hotel Merlet.