Braised pigeon with olives

Pluck and draw the pigeons (two for four people) and remove the legs and breasts in sides of one piece.

Then make a stock from the remainder of the carcass and giblets (but not the livers). To make this stock, place the carcasses and giblets in about half a pint of water, add one or two carrots and half an onion. Allow two hours for cooking in an ordinary pan, though a pressure cooker would reduce this time to half an hour.

Other ingredients required are: 2 oz. Of fat, 4 rashers of bacon, 2 dessert spoons of flour, a dozen stoned olives, half teaspoonful mixed herbs, a large onion, half lb. of carrots.

Melt the fat into a casserole and fry up the bacon, which should have been chopped into small pieces. Add chopped up onion and carrots and fry until brown, and then add the herbs and slowly stir in the flour.

Gradually work in the half-pint of stock and stir it well. Finally add the olives and pieces of pigeon and cook them in a low oven for at least two hours.

To serve- fry some rounds of thick bread (or make a similar quantity of toast) lay a pigeon leg and breast on each, arrange the olives and pour the hot sauce over the lot.