Passer -by .....Passenger Pigeon

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Passengerpigeon.jpg


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_pigeon

"The Passenger Pigeon or Wild Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) was a bird, now extinct, that existed in North America and lived in enormous migratory flocks until the early 20th century"

"Some reduction in numbers occurred because of habitat loss when the Europeans started settling further inland. The primary factor emerged when pigeon meat was commercialized as a cheap food for slaves and the poor in the 19th century, resulting in hunting on a massive scale. There was a slow decline in their numbers between about 1800 and 1870, followed by a catastrophic decline between 1870 and 1890.[6] Martha, thought to be the world's last Passenger Pigeon, died on September 1, 1914, at the Cincinnati Zoo."


http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/515538

Ingredients
10 pigeon breasts
1 large onion
1 stick celery
1 small leek
1 carrot
4 tbsp olive oil
120 g chicken livers
200 g pancetta lardons
200 g button mushrooms
200 g small shallots, finely chopped
1 tbsp tomato purée
600 ml game or chicken stock
10 black peppercorns
1 sprig of rosemary
10 sage leaves
a pinch of thyme
500 g shortcrust pastry
Conversion Calculator
Method
1. Cut the pigeon breasts into small pieces. Finely dice the onion, celery, leek and carrot.

2. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over a moderate heat and fry the pigeon, chicken livers and pancetta in olive oil until lightly browned. Put into a pie dish.

3. Add a further tablespoon of the oil to the frying pan and fry the onion, celery, leek and carrot until golden, and then add this to the pie dish. Fry the button mushrooms and shallots in the remaining oil and add to the pie dish.

4. Spoon tomato paste into the pan and cook for 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with the stock. Add the peppercorns, rosemary, sage and thyme to the stock, and bring to the boil.

5. Set the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Pour the stock over the meat in the pie dish.

6. Roll the pastry out to cover the pie and bake for 45 minutes. Serve immediately.




http://www.reallynicerecipes.com/recipe/game/pigeon-pie
Ingredients
For braising the pigeon:
1kg pigeon (4)
140g onion (1)
70g carrot (1)
100g leek (½)
20g garlic (3 cloves)
3 bay leaves
some parsley stalks
300ml red wine
3 tablespoons of olive oil
For the pie:
280g onions (2)
160g mushrooms
10g parsley
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon of brandy
1 × shortcrust pastry
6 tablespoons of olive oil
1 egg
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 3 hours
Serves: 4