WARM SALAD OF WOOD PIGEON

By BobD

Ingredients

• Ingredients:
• Warm Salad of Wood Pigeon, with Crispy Parsnips and Lentils
• Serves 4
• 4 Wild Scottish Wood Pigeons, skinned and boned
• 2 oz Puy lentils, soaked overnight
• 5-6 oz parsnip
• Sunflower oil for deep frying, plus 1 tblsp for cooking wood pigeon
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 5-6 oz mixed salad leaves
• 3 tblsp of vinegarette

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

Preparation

Preheat overn to 425 degrees.

Drain the lentils and put them in a saucepan with just enough water to cover and cook them very slowly for eight to ten minutes until tender. Drain the lentils again and put them in a bowl. Keep them warm until required.

Thinly slice parsnip lengthways using a potato peeler. Heat the oil until a bread cube turns golden in 20 seconds and rises to the surface. Deep-fry the thin parsnip slices until golden. Drain and leave them on a sheet of kitchen paper until required.

Season the skinned pigeon breasts with salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan until it’s hot. Drop in a tablespoon of sunflower oil and pan-fry the pigeon breasts for approximately two minutes each side. Allow them to rest in the pan in a warm place for at least 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, toss the salad leaves with the vinaigrette and the lentils. Slice the pigeon breasts thinly - about a dozen slices per breast (these should still be very pink inside) - and add them to the bowl of leaves.

Carefully toss together with your hands and divide between four plates. Top each mound of leaves with a handful of fried parsnip shreds. Serve immediately before it all goes soggy!