Mini Wood Pigeon Pie #5: Pigeon, Tatties and Neeps Pot Belly Pie

Ploughman's lunch inspired pigeon pot belly pie

I actually named this pie after the extremely old fashioned style of pot belly stove, which is for some reason what it reminded me of when it came out of the oven. I hope you find it as warming and comforting. The pigeon in this pie filling is complemented by that ultra Scottish combination of tatties and neeps (potato and Swede turnip) so it is certainly an authentically Scottish recipe. I chose to serve it cold in a very loosely ploughman's lunch inspired fashion but it can of course also be served hot and in any way you choose.

Cook Time

Prep time: 30 min (includes minimum resting time for cooked pie)

Cook time: 30 min

Ready in: 1 hour

Yields: 1 serving

Potato and Swede turnip chunks

Ingredients

• 2" x 2" x 1" (5cm x 5cm x 2.5cm) pieces of both potato and Swede turnip (rutabaga), peeled and moderately finely diced
• 1 skinless pigeon breast fillet, finely chopped
• Generous pinch dried thyme
• Salt and black pepper
• 4 ounce (100g) piece puff pastry
• Flour for rolling pastry
• Beaten egg for glazing pastry
• Little bit of vegetable oil for greasing baking tray
• 2 tablespoons sauerkraut
• 1 tablespoon green tomato and onion chutney
• 2 triangular slices Scottish cheddar cheese

Pie filling ingredients

Method

Put your oven on to preheat to 200C/Gas Mark 6/400F.

Add the pigeon, potato, Swede turnip and thyme to a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix by hand until fully combined.

Pigeon pie filling is added to pastry circle

Roll the pastry out on a clean, dry, floured surface until you have a square just large enough that you can use a 7" (18cm) diameter plate as a template to cut from it a circle. Carefully arrange the filling in the centre of the circle in a semi-spherical mound (as shown above).

Pastry is gathered up and pinched around the pie filling

Draw up the border of the pastry towards the top of the filling until you can gently pinch the pastry together all around. Gently give the pinched pastry a quarter turn to seal it and help prevent it bursting apart in the oven. Make four small holes around the pinched pastry top to serve as steam vents.

Pot belly pigeon pie is glazed for baking

Sit the assembled pie on a lightly oiled baking sheet or tray. Glaze all over with beaten egg and place the tray in the oven for 30 minutes.

Pigeon, tatties and neeps pot belly pie

Take the pie from the oven and allow to rest for a minimum 15 minutes. In this instance, I allowed it to cool completely.

Pigeon, tatties and neep pie ploughman's style lunch

Lift the pie to a serving plate, arrange the sauerkraut, pickle and cheese and serve.

Pheasant Leg Meat and Cheese Bruschetta

Pheasant and cheese bruschetta with salad

This is one of those creations that literally came about through a sudden strike of inspiration and a spur of the moment decision to use just some of the pheasant leg meat I had earmarked for an alternative purpose. It is however a dish I will definitely make again, perhaps experimenting with different types of wild game, such as rabbit or even perhaps some leftover roast venison. The serving salad ingredients are of course endlessly variable to suit individual tastes.

Cook Time (not including pheasant leg meat)

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 10 min

Ready in: 20 min

Yields: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 3 medium crisp lettuce leaves, rolled and shredded
• 6 baby plum tomatoes, halved down through the core
• 6 pitted black olives
• Salt
• 3 or 4 angled slices from French bread stick
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled and lightly crushed
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Handful or as required pheasant leg meat chunks
• 1 spring onion (green onion), moderately finely sliced
• 3 or 4 slices Cheddar cheese, cut to required size
• 2 or 3 chives, moderately finely chopped

Pheasant meat and spring onion laid on bruschetta

Method

Put your kitchen grill (broiler) on to preheat to its highest setting.

Put the lettuce, tomatoes and olives into a bowl. Season with salt and lightly toss by hand.

Toast the bread slices on both sides and rub on one side with the crushed garlic clove while still hot before drizzling lightly with extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt. Arrange a layer of pheasant leg meat and spring onion on each piece.

Cheese slices top pheasant and spring onion

Lay a slice of cheese on top of each pheasant and spring onion layer and carefully lift the assemblies back on to your grilling tray. Grill again until cheese is melted and bubbling.

Cheese is melted over pheasant and spring onion

Scatter some freshly chopped chives over each piece and plate to serve with the side salad.
 

Indian Spiced Pheasant Breast Salad

Curry spiced pheasant breast summer salad

When I came up with the idea a couple of nights back to make a curried pheasant breast dish, I did not fully consider how appropriate that would be for dinner on a particularly hot summer's evening. Fortunately, I came up with this plan to make a cold, curry spiced pheasant breast Indian themed salad instead. I essentially served the cooled pheasant breasts with Indian spiced chickpeas (essentially just spiced onions with the onions substituted by chickpeas) and an experimental simple salad in what is actually homemade pakora sauce. The only element of the combination served warm is the naan bread. 

Cook Time

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 8 min

Ready in: 23 min (plus cooling time for pheasant)

Yields: 2 servings

Patting pheasant breast in curry seasoned flour

Ingredients

• 2 skinless pheasant breast fillets
• 2 tablespoons plain/all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon (or to taste) hot curry powder
• Salt
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 14 ounce/400g can chickpeas in water, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup (1 each for chickpeas and mixed salad)
• 2 teaspoons mint sauce (1 each for chickpeas and salad)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder (1/4 teaspoon each for chickpeas and salad)
• 1 teaspoon runny honey
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 teaspoon dried coriander leaf/cilantro
• 3 tablespoons natural yoghurt
• 6 crisp Little Gem or Romaine/cos lettuce leaves, rolled and shredded
• 10 baby plum tomatoes, halved down through the core
• 4 inch (10cm) piece of cucumber (variety known as English cucumber, US), halved down through the core and sliced
• 3 or 4 slices from peeled and halved brown onion, separated into strands
• 2 mini garlic and coriander/cilantro naan breads

Spicy floured pheasant breasts are added to frying pan

Put the flour and curry powder in a flat bottomed bowl and season further with a generous pinch of salt. Use a table knife (yes, honestly!) to stir/combine and you will not create lumps in the mixture.

Pour a little oil into a large frying pan and bring it up to a medium heat. Pat the pheasant breasts on both sides in the flour mix to ensure even covering, gently shake off any excess flour and fry on a medium heat for four minutes each side.

Pheasant breasts are turned to fry on second side

When the pheasant breasts are done, lift them to a plate, cover and leave them to rest and cool completely.

Spicy sauce for chickpeas ingredients

To a large glass or stone bowl add 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup, 1 teaspoon mint sauce, 1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek, 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder, the honey, the lemon juice and the dried coriander/cilantro. Stir well with a wooden spoon to properly and fully combine.

Chickpeas are added to spicy sauce

Add the rinsed chickpeas to the spicy sauce and carefully stir fold with the wooden spoon to ensure even coating.

Simple pakora sauce ingredients

Put the yoghurt, 1 tablespoon of ketchup, 1 teaspoon mint sauce and 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder into a second bowl. Season with a little salt and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.

Salad ingredients are added to pakora sauce

Add the salad elements to the bowl with the pakora sauce and carefully stir fold to ensure even coating.

Lay the rested and cooled pheasant breasts on a chopping board and slice at a 45-degree angle. Arrange 1 pheasant breast on each serving plate, flanked in each instance by half the salad and half the spiced chickpeas. Heat 2 naan breads in a hot oven or under a hot grill/broiler, or per the instructions on the pack. Note that it is sometimes a good idea to sprinkle them with a little cold water prior to heating to ensure they are moist. Cut the naan breads in half and plate a half at either end of the sliced pheasant.

Slow Cooked Curried Pulled Goose Breast

Pulled curried goose breast with turmeric rice

While all forms of wild game have a tendency to be tough if not cooked appropriately and extremely carefully, I have found that goose breast fillets can be particularly challenging in this way. More often than not, I simply slice them across the grain to a thickness of around a quarter inch and then flash fry the strips. In this instance, however, I decided to slow cook the breast in a rich curry sauce before teasing it apart with 2 forks, as would more commonly be done with a slow-roasted shoulder of pork to produce pulled pork. 

Cook Time

Prep time: 1/2 hour

Cook time: Overnight plus 1/2 hour

Ready in: Overnight plus 1 hour

Yields: 6 to 8 servings

Skinless Canada goose breast fillet

Ingredients

• 2 large white onions, peeled, halved and sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 4 14-ounce (400g) cans chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
• 1 teaspoon hot curry powder
• 1 teaspoon dried coriander (cilantro)
• 2 birds' eye chillies, finely chopped
• Salt and black pepper
• 3 bell peppers, seeded and sliced
• 2 14-ounce (400g) cans chickpeas in water, drained and rinsed
• 3 ounces (75g) brown rice per person
• Generous pinch ground turmeric per person
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped coriander (cilantro) for curry, plus extra to garnish
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped coriander (cilantro) per person for rice

Sliced onion and garlic

Method

Add the onion and garlic to the slow cooker.

Chopped tomatoes and seasonings are added to slow cooker

Pour the 4 cans of chopped tomatoes over the onion and garlic. Add the curry powder, dried coriander/cilantro, chopped chillies and about a teaspoon of salt. Season to taste with black pepper.

Goose breast is submerged in spicy tomato sauce

Stir the combination carefully but well and slide the goose breast into the mixture, ensuring it is fully covered. Put the lid on the slow cooker and turn it on at its low setting. Cook for 10 hours. I cooked it overnight.

Slow cooked goose breast

Remove the lid from the slow cooker and be careful of escaping steam. Use a large, slotted spoon to lift the goose breast from the sauce to a deep plate.

2 forks are used to shred goose breast

While it's still hot, use 2 forks to shred the goose breast, just as you would with a shoulder of pork if making pulled pork. Cover and set aside.

Sliced bell peppers are added to spicy tomato sauce

Carefully ladle or pour the sauce into a large soup or stock pot. Add the sliced bell peppers, stir carefully but well and bring to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes.

Chickpeas and shredded goose breast are added to curry sauce

Add the chickpeas and shredded goose breast to the curry sauce, stir well and bring back to a simmer for 5 final minutes while you get the rice on to cook. Turn the heat off under the curry and cover.

Turmeric and black pepper are added to drained rice

Different types of rice require different cooking times. This is brown rice which had to be simmered in salted water for 20 minutes. Check the instructions on your pack. When the rice is cooked, drain it through a colander, return to the empty pot and season with turmeric and black pepper. Stir gently but well and allow to steam off and dry out for a couple of minutes.

Chopped coriander is added to goose breast curry

Coriander/cilantro is added to the pulled goose breast curry before being carefully stirred through.

Chopped coriander is added to rice

Add the coriander to the rice and carefully stir/fold to combine.

Rice border is prepared in serving plate

Spoon the rice into a deep serving plate and arrange it around the border as shown.

Goose curry is ladled into serving plate

A couple of ladles of the curry should be added to the well in the centre of the plate before it is garnished with the last of the coriander/cilantro and served.

Bacon Wrapped Partridge Breasts with Roasties

Bacon wrapped partridge breasts with roasties and green beans

This is a really simple way to cook partridge breasts but no less delicious. The bacon helps keep the meat beautifully moist and tender as well as adding of course that extra special bit of flavour.

Cook Time

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 45 min

Ready in: 1 hour 45 min

Yields: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 2 skinless partridge breast fillets
• 4 back bacon rashers (or 6 to 8 slices US/streaky bacon)
• 7 baby new potatoes, or quantity as desired 
• Salt and black pepper
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Trimmed French/green beans, quantity as desired

Method

Add the whole, unpeeled potatoes to a pot of cold, salted water. Bring to a simmer for 30 minutes, drain and return to the pot. Leave to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Put your oven on to pre-heat to 180C/Gas Mark 4/350F.

Bacon wrapped pheasant breasts

Season the pheasant breasts with black pepper only and wrap them in the bacon (the bacon will provide all the salt needed). 

Browning bacon wrapped partridge breasts

Bring a little oil up to heat in an ovenproof frying pan and fry the bacon wrapped breasts for a minute or so each side. Put the pan into the oven for 5 minutes then remove and set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

Peeling skin from cooled, boiled potatoes

While the partridge breasts are in the oven, peel the skin from the potatoes and bring your deep fat fryer up to a medium to high heat. Deep fry the potatoes for 5 or 6 minutes until golden, before draining on kitchen paper.

Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil before adding the beans to simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.

Plated bacon wrapped partridge breasts

Lift the bacon wrapped partridge breasts to your serving plate before arranging the potatoes and well drained beans alongside.

Wood Pigeon and Goat's Cheese Salad

 

Pigeon and goat's cheese salad

As I may have mentioned before, pigeon breasts are among my favourite eating forms of wild game. The birds are incredibly easy to clean, the breasts are incredibly easy to cook in a variety of different ways and the lean, tender meat is suited to a wide variety of tasty dishes. This recipe is about as simple as simple gets and sees a couple of tender pigeon breasts combined in a simple goat's cheese salad. Perfect for a light, summer lunch on a warm day - or, quite frankly, any time of year when you either have some fresh pigeon breasts to hand or some in your freezer needing defrosted and used up...

Cook Time

Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: 5 min

Ready in: 10 min

Yields: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 2 skinless pigeon breast fillets
• Salt and pepper
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Generous handful mixed green salad leaves of choice
• 1 medium tomato
• 2 ounces/50g goat's cheese
• Generous pinch dried oregano

Frying pigeon breast fillets

Method

Pour a little bit of vegetable oil into a small, non-stick frying pan and bring it up to a medium to high heat. Season the pigeon breasts on both sides with salt and pepper and fry over a medium heat for 2.5 minutes each side. Remove to a plate, cover with foil and leave to rest for 5 minutes. 

Washing tomato and salad leaves

Wash the salad leaves and tomato under running cold water in a colander. Shake the leaves dry. Cut the tomato in half, down through the core, then cut each half in to 3 wedges before adding to a bowl with the leaves. Season with salt and pepper and toss gently by hand.

Diced goat's cheese is added to salad

Roughly dice the goat's cheese and add to the bowl with the salad.

Thinly sliced pigeon breast

Sit the pigeon breasts on a chopping board. Holding one end of each breast in turn in place with a fork, slice them fairly thinly at an acute angle with a very sharp carving knife.

Gently combining pigeon salad ingredients

Add the pigeon slices to the bowl with the cheese and salad, scatter with the dried oregano and gently stir toss with a wooden spoon before plating for service.

Hot Smoked Trout with Scrambled Duck Eggs and Beetroot Salad

Hot smoked rainbow trout with scrambled duck eggs

I am lucky enough to have been enjoying home (hot) smoked rainbow trout on a semi-regular basis for some years now. In this instance, however, there is a significant difference in that the fillet of trout had been frozen after smoking some weeks earlier and subsequently defrosted overnight in the fridge. I was fairly sure that the trout would still be very enjoyable despite this departure from the normal procedures but I decided that given it had been frozen, it would be prudent to very carefully reheat it in some fashion rather than simply eating it cold as I would normally do with freshly smoked fish.

Hot smoked rainbow trout fillet

As you will see from the image above, this was a fairly large fillet, easily making for three portions. In this recipe, I am focusing only on the tail portion of the fillet, how I re-heated it and how I subsequently served it.

Cook Time (not including original smoking of trout fillet)

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 10 min

Ready in: 20 min

Yields: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1 cooked but not pickled beetroot, roughly chopped
• 6 to 8 pitted black olives, halved down through the core
• Salt and pepper
• Generous pinch dried oregano
• 1 smoked trout fillet tail section
• Little bit of vegetable oil
• 3 Savoy cabbage leaves, rolled and shredded
• 1/2 white onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Pinch dried sage
• 2 duck eggs
• Dried dill to garnish 

Method

Start by preparing the beetroot and olives salad as you are hands on cooking pretty much all the way afterwards. Simply add the chopped beetroot and olive halves to a bowl, season with salt, pepper and a little dried oregano, stir carefully but well and set aside until required.

Tough core is cut from Savoy cabbage leaf and discarded

It is worth pointing out that I like to cut the cores out of these larger Savoy cabbage leaves and discard them before I subsequently roll and shred the leaves. While this is not essential, the cores can be exceptionally tough and less than pleasant to eat, even when thinly sliced and cooked.

Trout fillet is laid in medium hot pan skin side down

Pour a little bit of vegetable oil into a non-stick frying pan and bring it up to a medium heat. Lay the trout fillet in the pan skin side down and leave it to gently reheat while you cook the cabbage and onion. The thick skin will protect the flesh from overcooking. Do not season the fillet in any way as this has been taken care of prior to smoking. Note: if the skin has already been removed from the trout, this re-heating method is not appropriate. You will have to use an alternative option, such as gently heating it wrapped in foil in the oven.

Starting to saute cabbage and onion

Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a large saucepan and put it on to a medium heat. Add the cabbage and onion before seasoning with salt, pepper and a pinch of sage. Cook over a medium to high heat, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, for 3 or 4 minutes until the strands are pretty much softened.

Skin is peeled from smoked trout fillet

Lift the smoked trout fillet to a square serving plate with a spatula. You should find that the skin will easily peel away from the flesh in one clean piece.

Beetroot salad and sauteed cabbage are arranged alongside trout

Carefully turn the trout over on to its presentation side. Spoon the beetroot and olive salad along either side before arranging the sauteed cabbage and onion either side of that.

Duck eggs ready fro scrambling

Break the two duck eggs into a small saucepan. A little bit of butter can also be added if desired for extra creaminess but do not season at this stage! Put the pot on to a medium heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon as the eggs start to scramble. Be careful not to overcook. Season at the very last minute with a little salt and pepper before plating alongside your trout and garnishing with a little dried dill before service.