b'GAME RECIPEPALUMBUS PICCANTEOur regular feature covering easy yet great things to do with British game meat. This issue, it is PIGEON.C olumba palumbus is the LatinThis issue it was time to make good myThis one was as utterly simple as the name for the common woodrequest to Rosie Barham, who was gettingcookout was fabulously elaborate.pigeon. Daft, tame and nearready to move house when I first asked.The only authentic paella rice is Spanish. domesticated in suburbia whereAuthor of The Fishing Widows Guide andIt is short grain, with low starch and high the pickings are rich, they are aO\x1fThe Hook, I met her at angling showsmoisture absorption. Arroz Redonda far more timid a proposition to shoot in theand bought her book. She is a damn fine(trans: round rice) is their general term, the countryside. We have those fat ones thatwriter, funny, witty and poignant. varieties used for paella are senia, bomba, live here all year round and massive flocksAnd one hell of a cook. Her bookand bahfa. Rosie says bomba.of thinner birds that fly in from ScandinaviaDelicious Vermin is filled with recipesAnd I lied a little, as she knew in the winter when it is just too horriblefor pigeon. So of course, I asked for herprecisely how much rice to use to feed there. Yes, the UK counts as birds fly southhelp. This was to be a simple dish, justus and knew exactly how much made-in the winter. made by eye and with whatever sheup chicken stock to use to make it a And some will meet their end at thehappened to have in her pantry - mindperfect amount.hands of pest controllers, rough shootersyou, she does keep posh stores in anPalumbus Piccante or Flippin and of course, us slingshooters. actual pantry! Tasty Pigeon.YOU WILL NEED METHOD Pigeon BreastsBomba paella rice Slice the meat thinly, slice theA tin of smashed tomatoesChicken stock (OXO!) mushrooms coarsely. Halve the olives,Some sun dried tomatoesThe BEST olive oil you can a\x1f ord make up the stock. Tin of garlic-stu\x1f ed olivesSalt, pepper, herbs With only a little oil (this is a low fat Chestnut Mushrooms (or normal(we didnt use the tinned tomato pure inmeal) fry the mushrooms in a pan that ones) the event) has a lid it can wear. Then, once cooked just enough, put the rice into the pan, stir it up with the mushrooms and pour on the stock. For non-chefs allow 250ml liquid for 100g of rice, so 400g would be a litre. Rosie added salt and tasted it carefully as she went. Allow just twelve minutes, lid-on, with an occasional stir for the rice to absorb all the liquid. You may have to add some more stock.Olive oil in another pan and fry the pigeon breasts. Salt and pepper and then add cut olives. After a minute, add sun dried tomatoes and a moment later, the tinned smashed tomatoes. Allow to simmer while the rice cooks.Serve together.This was bloody lovely, and I was being polite when Rosie asked if I wanted seconds, as I would have hoovered the lot. It is filling and yes, piquant. Try it.047047_SSW003.Game Recipe - Pigeon.indd 47 06/09/2019 10:28'