Recipe: Beef and Pigeon Pie

Ingredients

• 2 pigeons
• 340 g (3/4 lb) rump steak
• 75 g (3 oz) ham or lean bacon
• 284 ml (1/2 pint) good stock
• 1 hard-boiled egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 500g Puff-pastry – puff-paste in Beaton-speak.
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Cut each pigeon into 4 pieces
2. Cut the beef into small thin slices, the ham into strips and the eggs into slices
3. Put these ingredients into a pie dish in layers, season well and pour in the stock to three-quarters fill the dish
4. Put on the cover (pre-rolled puff pastry), brush over with yolk of egg, bake in a quick oven (200 degrees C) until the paste has risen and set, then cook at a lower temperature (we recommend 150 degrees C) for about 1 hour
5. Have ready a few of the pigeon’s feet, scalded and the toes cut off, also the remainder of the stock
6. Before serving, pour in the stock through the centre of the pie and replace the pastry ornament with the feet, fixing them in a nearly upright position
7. The pie may be served either hot or cold; if the latter, the stock must form a jelly when cold