DIRTY PIGEON BREASTS WITH PEAS & WILD GREENS

Spring in a dish. ‘Dirty’ cooking, also known as ‘clinching’, means cooking directly on hot coals, just as our ancestors would have done.

Serves 4

4 PIGEON BREASTS, SKIN ON

350G FROZEN PEAS

2 TBSP BUTTER, PLUS EXTRA IF NEEDED

12 HOGWEED BUDS (AVAILABLE APRIL TO SEPTEMBER) LEAVES FROM A FEW SPRIGS OF WILD MINT (AVAILABLE APRIL TO SEPTEMBER), COARSELY CHOPPED

12 VETCH TOPS (AVAILABLE APRIL TO JULY)

A FEW THREE-CORNERED LEEK FLOWERS (AVAILABLE JANUARY TO MAY)

1 Create a bed of charcoal by burning wood down to embers (cherrywood works well with pigeon). When it’s ready, fan off the ash, season the pigeon breasts with salt and put them directly on the red-hot embers, skin-side down. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, then wrap in foil and leave to rest next to the fire for 7-8 minutes.

2 Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add the frozen peas and cook, covered, over a medium-low heat for 2 minutes, then drain.

3 While the peas are cooking, heat a frying pan and add the butter, then the hogweed buds and cook for 1 minute. They will suck up the butter, so add a little more if necessary.

4 Stir in the peas and mint and season well with salt and pepper. Cook for a further 1 minute, then remove from the heat.

5 Unwrap the pigeon breasts and slice them in half through each breast at a slight angle. Serve with the peas, sprinkled with the vetch and three-cornered leek flowers.