Pigeon and persimmon

Begin by preparing and brining the pigeons. Remove the legs from the pigeons to create 8 crowns (your butcher can do this for you). Set the legs aside and, if the pigeons come with them, reserve the hearts too. Combine the yoghurt, milk and salt in a container, then submerge the crowns in the yoghurt brine and place in the fridge for 12 hours

For the curing mix, toast the spices then add to a blender with the thyme, rosemary, garlic and salt. Blitz into a fine powder, then use this mixture to evenly coat the reserved pigeon legs (and hearts, if you have them). Place in the fridge to cure for 2 hours, then rinse off the cure and pat dry

You can either cook the legs and hearts in a sous vide or in the oven. If cooking sous vide, place them into a vacuum bag with 50g of duck fat, then cook in a water bath at 60°C for 12 hours. If you don’t have a sous vide, place in an ovenproof dish and cover with duck fat. Place in an oven set at around 70°C and cook for 12 hours

While the crowns brine and the legs and hearts confit, you can make the other elements. Start with the sauce. Pour the stock in a pan and simmer until reduced by half. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes, or until you’re happy with the consistency of the sauce, then strain and reserve

To make the spice mix, toast each of the spices individually until fragrant. Blitz together into a fine powder, then store in an airtight container

To make the persimmon purée, blitz the persimmons in a blender at the highest speed for 2 minutes, then pass through a fine sieve. Season with the salt, vinegar and white pepper to taste, then store in the fridge until needed

To make the kale gremolata, blitz all the ingredients together in a blender until smooth. Store in the fridge until needed

Once the pigeon crowns have finished brining in the yoghurt, lift them out, wash off the excess brine and pat dry. Reserve in the fridge until ready to cook

Once the pigeon legs have finished confiting, lift them out of the fat and leave until cool enough to handle. Shred the meat off the bones, then combine the meat with some pigeon sauce, persimmon purée and duck fat until bound together. Season to taste with some of the spice mix, some thyme leaves, salt and pepper, then pack into a baking tray so the mixture is 2cm thick. Place into the fridge or freezer to set

You now have all the elements needed to finish the dish. Jonny cooks the pigeon over a charcoal barbecue for the best flavour and texture, so light one and wait until the coals glow white. You could also use a griddle pan, but it will lack the smoky flavour. Take the pigeon crowns out of the fridge to come up to room temperature before cooking, and ensure the other elements are out of the fridge too

Cut the set leg meat mixture into 8 small batons, then dust in rice flour, coat in egg yolk and then cover in the popped wild rice, packing the grains tightly onto it

Finely slice the persimmon and season with smoked olive oil and white pepper. Place somewhere warm (near the barbecue is good) to just soften slightly

To cook the carrots, mix 10g of the spice mix into the butter to create a spiced butter. Peel and cut the carrots lengthways, then cut into 2-inch pieces on the angle. Place the butter into a pan with enough water to create an emulsion, then heat until just below boiling. Add the carrots and cook for 7 minutes, then keep warm until ready to serve

Using tongs, hold the pigeon crowns as close to the coals as you can, turning them regularly, until the skin browns up and the breasts are rare. Leave to rest somewhere warm. If you have confited the hearts, briefly grill them on the barbecue to reheat

Gently reheat the pigeon sauce and bring a small pan of oil to 180°C. Deep-fry the pigeon croquettes for a few minutes until crisp, the drain on kitchen paper. Toss the kale in a little of the kale gremolata

To serve, add 4 slices of persimmon to each plate, along with pieces of carrot. Add a handful of kale, then carve the breasts and place them on top of the persimmon. Finish with a few dots of persimmon purée, the pigeon sauce and the duck croquette (and heart, if using)