Roast squab pigeon with celeriac salad

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A deliciously full-flavoured meaty starter from Adam Gray, with tender pigeon sat atop a bed of celeriac salad. This recipe shows how to make walnut dressing for the celeriac salad, which can be made ahead and stored to use with other salads as well. Learn more about how to roast a whole pigeon in our guide.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Squab pigeon

Celeriac salad

Walnut dressing

  • 120ml of walnut oil
  • 100ml of rapeseed oil
  • 50ml of white wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 7 pinches of white pepper

To plate

  • 12 sprigs of chervil
  • 4 handfuls of mixed salad leaves

Method

1
To make the walnut dressing, combine all the ingredients a bowl and whisk to emulsify. Adjust the seasoning to taste and set aside until required
  • 120ml of walnut oil
  • 100ml of rapeseed oil
  • 50ml of white wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 7 pinches of white pepper
2
To roast the pigeon, preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4 and place a tray in the oven to heat up. Remove the legs, wings and wish bone from the pigeon and set aside for another recipe
3
Heat a little oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and season the pigeon with salt. Seal in the pan until golden brown all over. Transfer to the tray in the oven. Roast the pigeon for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest for 3-4 minutes
  • rapeseed oil
4
To make the celeriac salad, peel and finely julienne the celeriac. If you are not confident with your knife skills you can grate instead. Mix the mustard and mayonnaise together. Then add gradually to the celeriac, ensuring that the final mixture is not too wet
5
Add 3 tablespoons of the walnut dressing and lemon juice to taste. Do not season until immediately before serving as the mixture will break down and become mushy
6
To serve, remove the breasts from the pigeons and slice into three. Season the celeriac salad and place a pile of the celeriac in the middle of four plates
7
Dress the mixed salad leaves and the chervil sprigs with a little of the walnut dressing and arrange around the outside of the celeriac
  • 4 handfuls of mixed salad leaves
  • 12 sprigs of chervil, fresh
8
Fan the sliced pigeon breasts on top of the celeriac salad and serve
First published in 2015

Adam Gray pulls off classic British flavours with grace, intelligence and admirable lightness of touch.

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