Braised Pigeons with Cherries is a traditional Zambian recipe for a classic stew of wild pigeons braised on a bed of onions in a red wine and cherry sauce. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Zambian version of: Braised Pigeons with Cherries.
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This is very much a British colonial dish, adapted to make use of the local Cape pigeons found throughout Southern Africa. They are a slightly gamey bird, with a flavour reminiscent of wood pigeon, though they are smaller and with plumper breasts. They have little fat and tend to be dry when cooked, so are better made into a stew. Bitter black cherries are the best for this (morellos are ideal), and if you cannot find fresh, the bottled cherries form Poland make a good substitute.
This is one of the few colonial recipes from Zambia that has echoes in a modern native dish, Cape Pigeons in Coconut Milk, so I provide both recipes here for comparison.
Ingredients:
2 pigeons, cleaned and trussed as for roasting
1 onion, chopped
1 lemon, quartered (with pips removed)
butter, for frying
300ml red wine
1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 bayleaf
a generous handful of pitted black cherries
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Melt a little butter in a large frying pan, add the chopped onion and fry for about 8 minutes, or until nicely browned. Turn into the base of a casserole dish and set aside.
Pat the pigeons dry with kitchen paper, then use a lemon quarter to stuff each pigeon. Heat a little more butter in the frying pan and use to fry the pigeons until lightly browned all over.
Remove the pigeons and sit them on their backs in a casserole dish so that they sit on top of the onions. Pour the red wine into the pan used to fry the pigeons and use to deglaze the pan (ie bring to a boil and scrape the base of the pan with a wooden spoon as the wine heats up).
Pour the wine into the casserole and add the bayleaf and chopped rosemary. Pour in enough water to half-cover the birds then bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover the casserole and cook gently for 60 minutes.
After this time, remove the lid and baste the birds with the remaining pan juices. Add the cherries, bring back to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes more (un-lidded). By this time the pigeons should be tender and the sauce should be thick and syrupy (if the liquid is not thick enough), remove the pigeons and set aside then bring the liquid to a boil and cook until thick.
Halve the pigeons and serve with the cherry sauce poured over. Accompany with mashed potatoes and a green salad.
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