Pigeon Breast ‘Sandwiches’ with Leek and Mustard Sauce

Pigeon Breast ‘Sandwiches’ with Leek and Mustard Sauce

Serves 4

8 pigeon breasts
6 rashers streaky bacon
1 medium sized onion
40g (1½ oz) butter
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
6 pepperdew peppers. Waitrose sells these mildly spicy miniature peppers in jars, as perhaps do other stores.
1 tablespoon well chopped parsley

Sauce:
1 good sized leek
50g (2 oz) butter
1 crushed clove of garlic
1 heaped tablespoon flour
300 ml (½ pt) stock
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard

Method

Place the pigeon breasts between 2 layers of cling film and beat them with a kitchen mallet or rolling pin until well flattened and of a more or less similar size. This isn’t always easy and if some turn out larger than others keep these for the bottom part of the ‘sandwich’.

Chop the bacon and the onion finely and cook them in the butter. Chop the peppers and add them to the mixture together with two tablespoons of parmesan. Spread the mixture evenly on the four larger of the flattened pigeon breasts and press the remaining breasts on top. Cook in a medium hot oven for about 10 minutes until a sharp fork will pierce the meat easily.
Mix the remaining parmesan with the parsley and sprinkle on top.

To make the sauce, chop the leek well and cook until soft in the butter and garlic. Stir in the flour and add the stock, stirring until thickened. Stir in the mustard and season to taste. Serve the sauce separately.

Reproduced from 'The Empty Larder' by Judy Malleson