Farmers’ Food at the doorstep

You might have seen the signs around campus already – there is a new farmers market on Queens Lawn every Tuesday. You will be surprised by how much fresh vegetables and fruits this is. Apart from the expected English strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, plums, apples and pears, there are also Downland Pigs famous free range hog roast, Brambletye Farm’s organic eggs and sweet and savoury goodies from Queen of Cakes. None of which you will be able to get from your local Sainsbury’s.

And with my goodies from the market I made something special for dinner: Pan-seared Pigeon Breast with Stuffed Courgette Flowers and Oven Roasted Potatoes

It’s simple, yet it looks restaurant-level gourmet due to the not-quite-common ingredients - you get amazing flavours and a mix of colour. You also get to experiment a bit with pretty cheffy techniques, so this recipe is perfect for those who’ve never tried stuff like deglazing pans to make gravy, etc. We’re in-between seasons at the moment, so sadly courgette flowers are sort of on their way out (they’re a summer thing) - but gamey pigeon breast is perfect for the autumn/winter. The beauty of this dish is its flexibility - there are no food police! If you can’t find courgette flowers, sub with your own veggies (preferably the stuff that’s more in season) - no need to pan-fry with egg wash necessarily. Or for something just as impressive, blackberry and game are known to go quite well together so you can toss blackberries and salad leaves, dress, and serve with this dish. Adjust amounts for a starter or main, tweak it to make as filling or as light as you want depending on how in-between-seasons you feel.

Ingredients

2 potatoes 4 small pigeon breasts 4 courgette flowers 1 egg, beaten Plain flour for egg wash A tart berry jam (we used IKEA’s Lingonberry, but raspberry works) ½ ball mozzarella Red wine for gravy Salt and pepper to season

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius, popping a tray of olive oil in to heat through. Peel and dice the potatoes into medium chunks, then parboil in salted water to give a headstart on cooking, but not until fully tender. Drain and toss with the heated oil + desired seasoning on your tray to give a nice light coating, then return to the oven.

While waiting, lightly season the pigeon breasts with salt and pepper, then place skin side down on a hot pan and cook for a few minutes. Don’t move it about after it first makes contact with the pan; you want it to develop a nice sear and colour. Like duck breast, pigeon should not be cooked to death/greyness - you still want it pinkish, and it’s not going to take long. Turn over after a few minutes and cook the other side in the same way, then remove from pan and let rest on a plate.

Deglaze the pan with a splash of red wine, then add a bit of the lingonberry/raspberry jam and stir until well combined. Continue to heat on medium until it reduces, adding some of the resting juices from the pigeon breast midway through (you’ll see them seep out - just throw them back into the pan.) You want the gravy to be a bit tart and thick, so adjust jam amounts with care. While your gravy slowly reduces, rinse and dry the courgette flowers. Cut up your mozzarella ball and stuff, then dip in beaten egg wash, drip off any excess and dust with seasoned flour (it’s easy - just mix plain flour with salt and pepper.) Heat a second pan with a bit of oil and pan-fry the courgette flowers until the coating is golden brown. Cheese should be heated through and somewhat melty-ish, but don’t cook these veggies to death! Remove and arrange on plate.

By this time the potatoes should be ready as well - you should time the courgette flowers to be cooked a few minutes before the potatoes are done. The sauce should have sufficiently reduced as well, so turn off the oven and the stove, take everything out and just plate up - then tuck in!

With special thanks to Wild Country Organics for providing the courgette flowers. Pigeon meat from the South Downs Venison and Game stall.