Pigeon in "Galera" by Valeria Piccini

Pigeon is a favorite ingredient of the chef at Da Caino restaurant in Montemerano, in the province of Grosseto.

Ingredients

• 2 pigeons
• 100g borretane spring onions
• sage and rosemary
• meat stock
• cornstarch
• 5 spring onions
• 1 glass of white wine

For the vinegar reduction:

• 250g white wine vinegar
• 50g balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon glucose syrup

Procedure

Clean the pigeons, keeping the thighs and wings aside for the classic preparation, the breasts to dry in a cell for a few days, the innards for the sauce, and the skin from the necks and back for the accompanying spring onion sauce.

Classic galera: Brown the wings and thighs of the pigeons in a casserole, season with salt and pepper. When they are well browned, add the spring onions borettane, sage and rosemary, brown the spring onions as well, and deglaze with white wine vinegar. Continue cooking for about 20 minutes with water and broth, adjust the salt and bind with a little cornstarch so it is brothy. It will be served on the side in the copper pot.

Galera Reduction: Prepare a vinegar reduction by reducing the ingredients indicated by ¾ and set aside. Next rosolate in another saucepan some pigeon bones, its innards and the scraps of spring onions, sage and rosemary. When everything is well browned, deglaze with white wine vinegar, douse with water and ice and cook for a couple of hours. Strain by squeezing well and place the resulting liquid in a saucepan along with the vinegar reduction and reduce further to the consistency of glaze.

Pigeon skin sauce: Spread the skins on a baking sheet, salt, oil, put a few rosemary needles and roast in a 180° oven for 15 minutes. Let dry on paper towels then put them in a brik and whisk together with some chicken or pigeon broth, a pinch of xanthan and salt, finally sieve.

Stewed spring onion: Clean and wash the spring onions, and leave them with even some of the roots, about 10 cm long. Brown them well, salt them, deglaze them with white wine and bring them to cook with water.

Dish composition

Salt the breast of the pigeon, brush it with vinegar and honey and brown it in a very hot pan with oil for 5 seconds per side, then bake in an oven at 200°C , fan on 3, for 4.30 minutes.

Let it rest under the lamp for 2-3 minutes before taking the breasts apart, cutting them in half lengthwise and serving:

half of the breast in the plate on the upper left with pigeon skin reduction underneath; in the center of the plate the spring onion rooted down and brushed (only at the top) with the pigeon skin sauce; the other half of the breast on the lower right, with some galera reduction next to it.