Text 3406, 130 rader
Skriven 2008-03-05 08:32:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av JOAN MACDIARMID
Ärende: TEACHING ME 944
=======================
 ML> Although Jimmy Carter was the first POTUS to use that pronunciation.
 JM> Beg to differ, I noticed this mispronunciation first
 JM> from John Kennedy.

I remember other Kennedys using this pronunciation, not John F.
Maybe I blanked out that unpleasant memory?

Pigeons Bologna-Style
Cat: Italian, Traditional, Pigeon
Servings: 2

2 pigeons with their livers
8 slices fatty prosciutto crudo, pancetta
- or other slices of quality pig fat
10 sage leaves
1 bay leaf
3 cloves
Salt and pepper
1 sm glass vinegar
1 lg glass dry wine, red or white
1 c (that's two glasses) stock, chicken if possible
2 c green peas
1 onion
A little butter and oil
1 lemon
Stale bread
Kitchen string

Piccione in umido

Untie and wash the pigeons. Remove the internal organs and
wash the hearts, livers and gizzards. Make sure there is
absolutely no trace of the greenish bile on the liver or this
would turn your dish into a bitter prison disciplinary stew.
Stuff a few sage leaves inside the pigeons.

Place a few sage leaves on the pigeon skin and wrap with the
ham, prosciutto, pancetta or bacon slices. Do not be afraid,
it is really easy as the ham will stick to the meat. Cut a
forearm-long piece of kitchen string, make a loop and tie the
back of the pigeon, then make another loop around the legs to
close it.

Heat a little butter with a tablespoon olive oil in a large,
heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid.

Fry the onions gently until they become soft. Do not let them
turn brown at this stage.

With your hands or kitchen tongs, delicately place the
pigeons in the pot for their last voyage, making sure not to
tear the ham or string.

Add three cloves and one bay leaf crushed in tiny pieces.

Let the pigeon roast on one side then turn them around with care.

When the pigeon is nicely browned all over, add the organs.
You can crush them or chop them into tiny pieces, but you
can't discard them - bird offal is essential to the taste. If
you don't believe me please try with a wee bit of pigeon
liver in the sauce and see how nice it is, nothing like the
awful pork liver they serve in the army.

Continue to fry over medium high heat until the liver has
coagulated - it will turn grey.

Vinegar now? Yes, a small glass of fine vinegar goes into the
pot followed by a large glass of dry red or white wine. After
the long simmering there will not be very much left of the
wine apart from some sweetness and tartness, so the color of
the whine does not make a huge difference. The vinegar
apparently evaporates during the cooking and what seems like
an unwieldly large quantity is barely perceptible on the
tongue when you serve the dish.

Let the liquid boil and the alcohol evaporates over high
heat, then add 1 c hot stock. Season with salt and pepper.

Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes or so. My
recipe indicated a minimum of 40 minutes but nowadays we like
our pigeon red, so I would recommend 20 to 30 minutes.

Italian cuisine can play tricks on foreign visitors. You need
to order the main course and any accompaniment separately. If
you order pigeons, they'll serve you pigeon with nothing
else. This dish is a very pleasing exception as it is
entirely self contained. We will now cook the green peas in
the pigeon sauce.

First we will remove the pigeons from the sauce to avoid
overcooking them while the peas cook. Prepare a flat dish and
kitchen tongs.

See how the ham has become crisp and still nicely wrap the
pigeon after the long simmer?

Reserve the pigeons and cover to keep warm.

Pour the peas into the stock (about 500 g of peas here).

Mix well. You can leave the gizzards, hearts and livers in
the pot. Don't eat them if they scare you but they'll add to
the peas' flavor.

Simmer well-covered for about 20 minutes or until the peas
are no longer floury. Bring out your best laddle.

Cut your stale bread into slices and toast them. What we need
is really hard bread that will not turn into a mush when
dipped into the sauce. You could also fry one-day-old bread
slices in some oil or let it dry for a half an hour in a 70C
oven. Lay the bread in the serving dish.

Carefully place the peas and cooking liquid over the bread
with the ladle, including the gizzards.

Continue until you either run out of peas or your dish is
filled up.

On this green bed lay the pigeons for a short rest. Sprinkle a
little lemon juice on top the pigeons to wake the tartness up.

Serve with sauce-soaked croutons. A delicious way to eat
pigeons indeed!

fxcuisine.com
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