Marie-Samuelle's Pigeon and Kale Puff Pastry, Small Vegetables from the Sire Family

for 4 people

Pigeon puff pastry

• Squab (about 500 g): 1 piece
• Smoked bacon: 80 g net
• Kale: 1 piece
• Carrot: 40 g
• Celery ball: 40 g
• Shallots: 40 g
• Puff pastry: 1 piece
• Butter

Gilding

• Egg yolk: 1 piece
• Liquid cream: 5 cl

Reims mustard sauce

• White wine: 5 cl
• Reims mustard (or old-fashioned): 20 g
• Liquid cream: 25 cl
• Butter: 150 g
• Parsley: ½ bunch

Trim

• Baby carrots: 16 pieces
• Mini-nips: 12 pieces
• Small cives: 12 pieces
• Mini fennel: 4 pieces

Monitoring - very important

the pigeon

• Lift the pigeon, keep the fillets (without the skin) aside.
• Take the thighs and cut the gutted carcass into thigh-sized pieces.
• Sear the pigeon fillets in butter, without browning, for a few seconds on each side to allow even browning in the puff pastry.
• Cool the fillets.

START the sauce

• Brown the pigeon legs in butter, then add the crushed carcasses and shallot trimmings.
• Sear the carcasses without over-colouring to avoid bitterness.
• Deglaze with white wine.
• Moisten with cold water to the top and cook for 45 minutes at a simmer.
• After 45 minutes, strain the pigeon juice, keeping the carcasses as well.
• Set the juice aside in a cool place.
• Take the meat from the legs and wings and crush it into small pieces to be added to the cabbage compote.

puff pastry and pigeon sauce

• Remove the leaves from the kale, do not use the first dark green leaves.
• Blanch 8 large whole leaves in boiling salted water for 1 minute and cool immediately in ice water.
• Drain and set aside.
• Thinly slice the remaining cabbage, taking care to remove the rib from each leaf.
• Blanch the chopped cabbage for 1 minute in boiling salted water, cool in iced water and drain well.
• Cut 40 g of carrot, 40 g of celery and 80 g of smoked bacon into brunoise.
• Chop 40 g of shallots. Keep the trimmings aside.
• Sweat the chopped shallots in butter, add the carrots and celery and cook while stirring.
• Add the smoked bacon.
• Then add 200 g of well-drained blanched chopped cabbage and simmer over low heat.
• Add the meat from the pigeon legs that have been cooked and chopped.
• Once the cabbage is well stewed, remove and cool before assembling the puff pastry. The cabbage should be at room temperature.

Assembly of the ballotine

• Take the large blanched sheets, remove the rib in the middle and gently roll out with a roller.
• Lay out a plastic film (without detaching it from the roll), place the blanched leaves on top, forming a rectangle 20 cm wide by 25 cm high.
• Spread the cabbage compote over the blanched leaves, making an even layer, leaving a 2 cm margin on the top side of the leaves to close the ballottine.
• Place the pigeon fillets next to each other on their backs in the centre of the rectangle, with the tips towards the centre.
• Carefully roll the cabbage leaves with the help of the foil and form a ballottine.
• Methodically and carefully tighten the ballottine with the film, making several turns and regularly piercing the film with the tip of a knife to remove any air bubbles.
• Keep the ballotine in a cool place for at least 12 hours.

The day of the meal

Preparation of vegetables

• Cook the baby carrots, baby turnips, baby fennel and cives separately. Cool in cold water.
• Carefully peel the vegetables after cooking.
• Set aside, if possible do not put the vegetables in the refrigerator.

Finishing the sauce

• Heat the pigeon juice, add 20 cl of liquid cream, cook the sauce for a few minutes and add 30 g of butter
• Reduce to a bubbly consistency.
• Chop the parsley.

Mounting the laminate

• Prepare the gilding: beat one egg yolk with 5 g of liquid cream.
• Roll out the puff pastry (if it is industrial pastry, roll it out), cut a rectangle 25 cm wide by 30 cm long.
• Using a brush, brown the entire pastry.
• Place the cabbage ballottine (without the plastic film) in the centre of the dough.
• Wrap the dough around the ballotine, taking care to avoid forming air bubbles.
• Close the ends (like a gift box) and squeeze out as much air as possible.
• Make sure that the laminate has no holes.
• Lightly brown the puff pastry with a brush and keep it in a cool place on baking paper until it is cooked.

Mealtime

• Put the baking tray in the oven to preheat to 220°C, at the beginning of the meal so that you don't forget.
• Heat the vegetables with a little butter and a spoonful of water.
• Heat up the sauce.
• Brown the puff pastry a second time with the gold, then place it in the oven with the baking paper on the hot baking sheet in the hot oven.
• Bake the puff pastry for 10 minutes at 220 °C, then lower the oven to 200 °C and leave it for another 10 minutes.
• The puff pastry must have a temperature of 50 °C in the centre of the pigeon fillet.

Take the temperature in the pigeon net with an electronic probe if possible.

• Once cooked, let it rest for 3 minutes before serving.
• While cooking, finish the sauce with a spoonful of old-fashioned mustard and the chopped parsley, if possible emulsify with a hand blender.
• Cut the puff pastry into 4 parts, arrange the vegetables on the hot plates and serve.

A rather technical recipe that requires you to follow the steps carefully. The highlight: a cold ballotine of cabbage and pigeon before being rolled in the puff pastry. Make this ballotine the day before the meal. The pigeon should be cooked to a pinkish colour.

For the pigeon

Marie-Samuelle, Les Pigeons de Pornic - breeder

La Meutrerie
44210 PORNIC
lespigeonsdepornic@gmail.com
06 28 27 56 36

For vegetables

Philippe & Isabelle Sire - market gardeners

The products of the Sire family are available directly from them or at the market in Tharon-Plage on Saturday mornings
Isabelle Sire : 06 33 49 88 79
Philippe Sire : 06 83 38 44 37
23, La Maraicherie, 44210 Pornic

MORISSEAU

Ferme du Pont Angis - Vegetable producer
Present on the markets of St Brévin-les-Pins on Thursdays and Sundays, and in Tharon on Saturdays.

MAUD SAVINA - producer

La Haute Chantrie - Le Ruaud
44320 Chaume-en-Retz
Organic production / Seasonal vegetables / Red fruit
Markets:
- Halles de Pornic on Thursdays and Sundays
- Bernerie-en-Retz on Tuesday and Friday.
Tel: 06 77 43 47 62

For the smoked bacon

Laurent Bernier - Charcutier

Shop in Chauvé
4 rue des Peupliers ZA de Bel Air
44320 Chauvé
02 40 21 12 02

Present on the markets :
in Saint-Brevin-les-Pins (Thursday and Sunday)
in Tharon (Saturday from September to June, Tuesday and Friday in July and August)
in Saint-Père-en-Retz (Tuesday)
in Paimbœuf (Friday)
in Frossay (Thursday)
in La Bernerie-en-Retz (Friday)

For the old-fashioned mustard

Clovis Company

Live in Reims
mustard-clovis.com

For eggs

Émeline Loquais, Le Cœur d'eau - organic egg producer

La Caillauderie
44680 Chaumes-en-Retz
On-site sales on Mondays and Thursdays 6.30 - 7.30 pm
Also available at Olive et Mirabelle in Pornic

For salt

The Millac Salt Works

Emmanuel Violleau
Chemin des Jaunais
44760 Les Moutiers en Retz
Tel: 06 11 23 87 75
E-mail : emnat@salines-de-millac.com
Direct sales at La Salorge all year round from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 12 pm and from 4 pm to 6 pm or on the online shop: https://www.salinesdemillac.com/