Spiced Dove Breasts with Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

Last night, I was catching up on all of my DVR'd episodes of The F-Word, and in one episode Gordon Ramsay goes pigeon hunting. He sears the boneless breasts then serves them on top of what he calls a summer vegetable casserole (pan roasted leeks, beets, asparagus, carrots, broad beans in a chicken stock/red wine vinegar reduction with pancetta, garlic & tarragon).  

And since I have a bunch of fresh dove breasts (and a few pigeons) in my fridge, I decided to give his recipe a try tonight.  But then...

As I was browsing the recipes archives at London's Channel 4 (Ramsay's British home base), I came across a more interesting recipe for wild bird...pigeon breasts marinated in yogurt & spices, served with a warm butternut squash & arugula salad.  I figured this would be the perfect dish to coax autumn out from under the rainy, humid weather we've been having.

After marinating for a few hours, the dove was very tender and really not gamey at all. We usually cook dove either dredged in flour and browned or wrapped in bacon and grilled, but I think I like this recipe the best.

Spiced Dove (and Pigeon) Breasts 

with Roast Butternut Squash Salad

slightly adapted from delicious magazine

Wild birds like pigeon & dove can be cooked briefly and eaten while they're still a little on the pink side.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 16 dove or 8 pigeon breasts (boneless)
• 3 tablespoons Greek-style yogurt
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon hot paprika (smoked, if possible)
• 1 medium butternut squash 
• 2 red onions
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
• Handful of arugula leaves
• 2 tablespoons butter
• toasted pumpkin seeds, optional

1. Put the dove or pigeon breasts, yogurt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ginger, cumin, salt and paprika in a shallow ceramic dish and marinate for at least 2 hours (or preferably overnight).

2. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel the squash & cut in half lengthwise.  Discard the seeds and cut the squash into bite-sized cubes. Toss in the remaining olive oil and add a little salt & pepper. Roast on a baking sheet for 25 minutes, or until slightly browned and crispy at the edges. 

3. Meanwhile, slice the red onions and toss in a bowl with the lemon juice and the olive oil. Season lightly. Gently mix the onion with the squash and arugula leaves to make a warm salad.

4. Heat the butter in a wide-bottomed frying pan and sear the dove breasts for about 2 minutes (3 minutes for pigeon breasts) on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside to rest for 5 minutes. Cut each breast in half on a bias and serve with the butternut salad and an extra drizzle of olive oil, if you like. 

Kelly's note: I added a sprinkle of toasted pumpkins seeds to my salad, too. I also left out the raw onion, but I think it would be good with some caramelized onions.