Yield: 4 servings
Season: all

4 young farm pigeons
Vermicelli or Japanese noodles

Pigeon Stock

• Stuffed pigeons
• 3½ pints very light chicken stock (if canned, use low sodium)
• 8 small carrots (with the stems), washed and peeled
• 8 turnips (with the stems), washed and peeled
• 8 small leeks, washed
• 8 small potatoes, washed (Chef Darroze uses Rosevald or Charlotte potatoes)
• 4 small onions, peeled
• 4 cloves
• 1 kale, use only the heart
• 1 bouquet garni (parsley, thyme and bay leaf)
• 0.2 ounces peppercorns
• Coarse salt

Stuffing

• The 4 pigeon giblets, chopped
• ¼ pound smoked ham, chopped
• 1 pound foie gras
• ¼ pound sausage meat
• 1.8 ounces dry breadcrumbs
• ½ clove garlic
• 1 sprig parsley, finely chopped
• 1 egg yolk
• Salt and pepper

Fois Gras Sauce

• 2 egg yolks
• A scant ½ cup cream, whipped
• 1.8 ounces raw foie gras
• 1.8 ounces butter

Tomato Salad

• 4 firm tomatoes
• 3.4 fluid ounces olive oil
• 1.7 fluid ounces wine vinegar

Garnishing

• Guérande salt (fleur du sel) and ground pepper

Sear the pigeons and then take the insides out. Reserve the giblets for the stuffing.

For the stuffing, mix the giblets, ham and sausage meat, add the foie gras and mix with a fork. Add the breadcrumbs, garlic and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Stuff the pigeons.

For the Pigeon Stock, pierce the onions with the cloves. Place the chicken stock, peppercorns, bouquet garni, a generous pinch of salt and the pigeons in a big pot. Simmer for 45 minutes. Add carrots, turnips, onions and potatoes, and after 15 minutes add the leeks and kale. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Cut the tomatoes in quarters one hour before serving. Season them with salt in a salad bowl. Set aside. To serve, season tomatoes with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

For the Foie Gras Sauce, delicately mix the softened butter with the foie gras. Take 2 cups from the stock and reduce by half over high heat. Add the whipped cream, then the egg yolks. Mix well over a low heat, add the foie gras butter. Be careful not to let it boil. Season to taste if necessary. Bring 4 big ladles of stock with some water to a simmer and skim the fat off. Throw some vermicelli or Japanese noodles in the stock, and cook for 10 minutes.

To plate, carve the pigeons. Collect the stuffing from the inside. Place the breasts, thighs and the fatty part of the thighs on one corner of the plate, with the stuffing nearby and all the vegetables on the bottom of the plate. In a corner, place some Guérande salt (fleur du sel) and ground pepper. Heat the Foie Gras Sauce and serve separately. Serve the tomato salad and one cup of pigeon stock on the side.