The Recipe Room

One species that’s learned to live alongside us pretty well is the pigeon. In our towns and cities, they’re hardly an endangered species! They’ve often been seen as pests, and they certainly can be something of a nuisance. But, seriously, if you can get hold of pigeon, then why not try this delicious risotto recipe? (For a veggie risotto, try this asparagus risotto recipe.)

Ingredients:

For the risotto:

• 600ml stock (vegetable or chicken)

• 50g butter

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

• 1 small/medium onion (or half a large onion)

• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic

• 200g Arborio rice

• 1 medium glass of dry white wine

• Salt and pepper

• 60g grated Parmesan cheese

For the pigeon ragout:

• 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil

• 1 Pigeon (prepared by your butcher)

• Half a medium sized onion, chopped

• 1 small carrot, finely chopped

• 1 small stick of celery, finely chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic, sliced very thinly

• 2 sage leaves

• 1 sprig of rosemary

• 1 glass of red or white wine, according to preference

• Salt and pepper

Method:

1 – Since it’ll take significantly longer than the rice, start with the bird. In a casserole or similar type dish, combine two-thirds of the olive oil with the wine and some salt and pepper. Place the pigeon into the liquid, and put in an oven preheated to 180°C. Cook for 25 minutes, then remove, place the meat in a bowl to cool and reserve the cooking liquid.

2 – With the remainder of the olive oil in the casserole dish, fry the herbs gently over a low-medium heat for a few minutes before adding the garlic. Gently sauté the garlic for a couple more minutes before adding the pigeon. After a few minutes, pour in the wine mixture and gently simmer for up to an hour to reduce the liquid and cook the bird.

3 – Once the pigeon’s simmering, make a start on the risotto: heat the stock in a pan. Melt about one third of the butter in another deep pan over a low heat. Add the olive oil and then gently sauté the onion, before adding the garlic. In 5-10 minutes the onion and garlic will be ready; add the rice and fry gently for a couple of minutes.

4 – Pour in the white wine. When the wine has cooked off, start adding stock, a ladle-full (or two) at a time, stirring all the while. Risotto rice should be a little like al dente pasta: soft, but with some bite. When the rice is cooked, add the remaining butter and the Parmesan cheese.

5 – Hopefully, if you’ve timed it right, your pigeon and risotto are now both ready. Risotto rice needs to sit for a few minutes before serving: once it’s rested a little, mix in the pigeon ragout, and serve in warmed bowls.

Pigeon is sufficiently robust; it can be paired with lighter red wines, rosés, or more obviously, dry whites like pinot grigio. But I like the peppery Gruner Veltliner grape, associated more with Austria than Italy, I know, but very versatile with food!

Serves: 2
Total Time – 1 hour 30 minutes (preparation, 15 minutes; cooking time, up to 1 hour and 15 minutes)

Tags: butter, carrot, celery, garlic, Italian food, olive oil, onion, pigeon, pigeon risotto, red wine, rice, rosemary, sage, vegetable stock, white wine

This entry was posted on Monday, 25 June, 2012 at 9:00 am by Gianluca Dievole and is filed under Less than 90 mins, Main Courses, Meal for 2 people. You can follow any responses to this entry through the feed RSS 2.0. You can leave a comment, or make a trackback from your own blog.