Pichón de Tierra de Campos Estofado

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy lidded casserole, 28-30cm
• •Kitchen tongs
• •Food mill or immersion blender
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the squabs

   Heat the oven to 160°C conventional, 140°C fan, or 325°F. Take the squabs from the refrigerator twenty minutes before cooking. Remove any stray pinfeathers, check that the cavities are clean, and pat the birds thoroughly dry. Season inside and out with 10g of the salt and all the black pepper.

   Pichón means a young pigeon. A plump farmed squab needs about an hour of braising; an adult pigeon can need twice that time and should not be put on the same clock.
2. 2

   Brown the birds

   Heat 45ml of the olive oil in a wide, heavy casserole over medium-high heat. Brown the squabs in two batches so the pan stays hot, turning them until the breasts, backs and legs take on a deep hazelnut colour, eight to ten minutes per batch. Lift them to a plate. Lower the heat and leave the browned residue in the casserole; that belongs in the sauce.

3. 3

   Build the sofrito

   Add the remaining 15ml olive oil, the onions, green pepper and remaining 2g salt. Cook over medium-low heat for twenty-five to thirty minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the vegetables are dark gold, very soft and nearly jammy. If the bottom catches before the onions soften, add one tablespoon of the measured water and scrape it clean. Add the garlic and cook for two minutes.

   This slow sofrito is the step that decides the dish. The onions must lose their water and turn sweet before the wine arrives, or the finished sauce stays thin and sharp.
4. 4

   Add flour and wine

   Sprinkle the flour over the sofrito and stir for one minute. Take the casserole off the heat, add the sweet pimentón, and stir for fifteen seconds. Pour in the red wine at once, return the casserole to medium heat, and scrape up every browned bit. Simmer for five to seven minutes, until the wine has reduced by roughly two-fifths and no longer smells raw.

5. 5

   Braise the squabs

   Return the squabs to the casserole, breast sides up, and add the bay leaf and 350ml hot water. The liquid should reach about halfway up the birds; add a little of the reserved extra water only if your casserole is wider. Bring it to the barest simmer, cover tightly, and place it in the oven. Turn and baste the birds after twenty-five minutes. Begin checking at fifty minutes. They are ready when a leg joint moves freely, the meat beside it yields to a skewer, and the thickest part of the thigh reaches at least 74°C or 165°F. Most farmed squabs need fifty-five to sixty-five minutes.

6. 6

   Finish the sauce

   Transfer the squabs to a warm plate and cover loosely. Discard the bay leaf, skim off any large pools of fat, and pass the sauce and vegetables through a food mill into the casserole. A careful pass with an immersion blender also works. Simmer uncovered for five to eight minutes, stirring often, until the sauce is glossy and coats the back of a spoon. Taste before adding any more salt.

7. 7

   Rest and serve

   Set the squabs back in the finished sauce and spoon it over them. Warm gently for five minutes, then take the casserole off the heat and rest it, covered, for ten minutes. Serve one bird per person with plenty of sauce and thick slices of pan candeal or another firm white country bread. The bread is there for the sauce, not decoration.

Chef Tips

• •Buy plump farmed squab from a butcher or game supplier, fresh or frozen. The skin should be intact and the flesh should smell clean and mild. Thaw frozen birds for twenty-four hours in the refrigerator, then dry them well before browning.
• •If squab is unavailable, replace the four birds with two Cornish game hens weighing 550 to 700g each, split lengthwise. Braise for sixty to seventy-five minutes, checking the thigh in the same way. The result is milder and less iron-rich, so it is a compromise, not the same bird under another name.
• •Use a dry, young red wine with bright fruit and little heavy oak. A young Cigales or Tempranillo suits the casserole. If the wine tastes sweet, woody or tired in the glass, cooking only concentrates the problem.
• •Pan candeal, the close-crumbed white bread of Castile, is the proper sort of bread for this sauce. A firm country loaf is the useful substitute; an airy loaf simply collapses.
• •The estofado keeps for three days in the refrigerator. Store the birds covered by their sauce so the breast meat stays moist, then reheat gently in a covered casserole until the centre reaches 74°C or 165°F.

Advance Preparation

• •The onion, pepper and garlic can be cut up to one day ahead and refrigerated separately in covered containers.
• •The completed estofado is particularly good made one day ahead. Transfer the birds and sauce to shallow containers, refrigerate within two hours, then return everything to the casserole and reheat gently while basting the birds.
• •If making it ahead, remove the firm layer of fat while the sauce is cold. Add 30 to 60ml water during reheating only if the sauce has set too thick.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 380g)