Pigeon Pie

Good old fashioned, no nonsense pigeon pie.

Ingredients

Serves 6-8

For the batter:

• 5 cup (1 1/4 lb / 550 g) plain flour
• 2 1/2 tsp salt
• 350 - 425 ml (12-16 fl oz / 1 1/2 - 2 cups) water

For the filling:

• 6 pigeons, each weighing approximately 400 g (14 oz)
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 4 onions
• 2/3 cup (150 g) butter
• 2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
• 2 tsp grated fresh root/green) ginger
• 1 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1/2 tsp ground caraway seed
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp saffron
• 1 pinch turmeric
• 125 ml (4 fl oz) 1/2 cup white wine
• 125 ml (4 fl oz) 1/2 cup water
• 6 eggs

For the crust:

• 150 g (5 oz) 1 1/3 cups coarsely chopped almonds
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp oil
• Icing sugar and cinnamon for dusting over pie

Method

1. To make the batter, sift flour into bowl, add 1 tsp salt and enough water to mix to a smooth, almost runny consistency. Cover and leave for 6 hours.
2. To make the filling, wash and dry pigeons; season with salt and pepper. Wash, dry and finely chop giblets. Peel and chop onions.
3. Heat 75 g (3 oz) butter in large, heavy-bottomed pan with lid; brown pigeons evenly, then remove from pan. Saute onions and giblets in remaining butter, add parsley and all spices/except cinnamon).
4. Stir in wine and water and bring to the boil.
5. Put pigeons carefully into boiling stock, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
6. Lift out pigeons, cool slightly, take meat off bones and cut into fine strips.
7. Pour half of stock into another saucepan. Boil remainder rapidly until reduced to 50 ml (2 fl oz) 1/4 cup, then cool and skim off fat.
8. Heat other half of stock to just below boiling point. Whisk eggs and egg yolks and pour into hot stock, taking care not to boil. Stir continuously. Stir in reduced stock.
9. To make the crust, brown almonds carefully in 25 g (1 oz) butter, stirring constantly; remove from pan and cool, then mix with sugar and cinnamon.
10. Heat a non-stick pan, and dry-fry a little batter until golden. Make 18 paper thin pancakes in this way.
11. To form pie crust, take a double layer of foil, lay on it 6 pancakes overlapping in a circle the same size as large pan. Cover with second layer of 6 pancakes. Place almond mixture in centre of layer, then combine pigeon with egg sauce and pour over almonds, leaving 7 cm/3 in free around edges.
12. Brush edges lightly with a little melted butter and fold as far as possible over filling. Cover with remaining 6 pancakes.
13. Heat oil with remaining butter in large pan. Slide pie carefully off foil and into pan; fry gently for 10 minutes until nicely browned.
14. Turn pie with help of pan lid to brown other side, again for 10 minutes.
15. Combine icing sugar and cinnamon and sift over pie.
16. Serve with a colourful mixed salad.