Pigeon tart recipe

Ingredients

• 500 g shallots, finely sliced
• 100 g unsalted butter

• 1 large block puff pastry

• 400 g unsalted butter
• 1 kg game trim (ideally bones and flesh), finely cut
• 1 bottle of very drinkable red wine
• 1 large glass of port
• 300 g shallots, finely diced
• 300 g carrots, finely diced
• 200 g button mushrooms, finely diced
• 170 g celery, finely diced
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 1 bulb garlic
• 500 ml veal stock
• 500 ml brown chicken stock
• 200 g golden raisins

Confit Shallot
1. Cook the shallots in the butter until they are golden brown and compote-like in consistency. Remove from the heat and reserve.
Tart Base
2. Roll the puff pastry as thinly possible.
3. Bake the puff pastry at 190°C between two heavy baking trays, both lined with parchment paper, until crisp and golden brown. Cut the pastry to size.
Sauce
4. Heat two large, heavy-based pans and add 200 g of butter to each pan.
5. Once the butter is foaming and on the point of noisette, add your brunoise to one pan and your trim to the other.
6. Once the brunoise and trim are perfectly caramelised and crisp pour the contents of both pans into a chinois and drain off the excess butter.
7. In a hot, clean pan add the red wine and port and reduce to a syrup.
8. Quickly add the vegetables, trim, veal and chicken stocks. Reduce whilst constantly skimming until the sauce reaches a lovely, velvety consistency.
9. Remove from the heat. Pass through a muslin cloth and reserve.
10. Add the raisins and allow to rehydrate.
Pigeon
11. Remove the wishbone as cleanly as possible. Season inside the cavity.
12. Lightly oil the outer side of the pigeon and season with fine sea salt. Set aside for 15 minutes.
13. Heat a heavy-base sauté pan and add the butter.
14. Wait until the butter is foaming, then caramelise your birds and place in a hot oven.
15. Cook for 6½ minutes and allow to rest for 10 minutes in a warm place.
16. Once rested, remove the breasts and cut in half directly down the middle. You should be left with four diamond-shaped pieces of pigeon breast.
17. Remove the legs and season both the legs and chest.
To Serve
18. Spread a thin layer of the confit shallot on the pastry and warm through in the oven.
19. Once warm, layer the pigeon and kale as pictured. Garnish with the honeycomb and rehydrated raisins from the sauce. Pour over the sauce to finish.