Rosie’s Recipe: pigeon sandwich

Rosie goes rustic and robust with ‘a proper sammidge’

Ingredients:

Four pigeon breasts, thinly sliced

One large artisan loaf

One red onion

Four rashers of streaky bacon

One squashed garlic clove

A sage leaf, finely shopped

Courgettes, thinly sliced and seared

Peppers – one green, red and orange, charred

Sun-dried tomatoes, left whole

Feta cheese – or you can use grated cheddar

Method:

1) Fry the pigeon, red onion, bacon, garlic and sage for a few minutes, until the bacon starts to take on colour. Set aside.

2) Sear the courgettes strips – using a potato peeler - in the same pan.

3) Grill the peppers, skin side up, to intensify the flavour. When cool, remove the skins.

4) Layer your ingredients: meat mixture, peppers, courgette, sun-dried tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese, meat mixture, peppers – but you can do it in any order.

5) Replace the lid on the loaf. Wrap in foil or clingfilm and weigh it down. Refrigerate for a few hours, or preferably overnight.

6) Slice and serve – kids will love it!

Rosie says:

‘Now, that’s a PROPERRR sammidge’, my West Country grandfather used to say when he presented me with a doorstep slice of crusty bread, a one-inch filling of cheese, ham, tomatoes and onions, and another doorstep on top. ‘Get that down you, my girl’. I was only a child, but I ate every crumb.

It’s strange how memories come flooding back as you get older, and that’s the one that popped into my brain as I sat watching a cheffy programme on TV, so I’ve combined the two ideas to make a super-sandwich fit for everyone, from an elderly gentleman and a small girl.

I bought an artisan loaf – although why they call it that these days, I have no idea. It’s just a decent loaf of bread. I hollowed it out. The breadcrumbs don’t go to waste as you can blitz and refrigerate them to make fishcakes, scotch eggs, or Essex-fried rabbit.

There is little cooking involved apart from the meat mixture, which can be cooked ahead of time.

It’s not a bad idea to make this colourful and tasty treat the day before you want to eat it. It’s just an assembly job really. Pop a weight on the top – I’ve used my grandmother’s old flat iron, but a couple of baked bean tins on a plate will serve just as well – and after 24 hours in the fridge all the flavours will have infused.

It’s fab, trust me!