- A feature from the December 2017 issue of Suffolk Norfolk Life magazine
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- Food
Red wine and beetroot risotto, smoked pancetta, horseradish & baby watercress & port jus – Serves 4. By Mark Dixon
This is now one of our signature dishes on our restaurant menu. It was on our first menu now over 5 years ago. I can’t believe that we have now been open 5 years … It really has flown by … And sorry, that was not an intended joke….
Pigeon is a wonderful meat – deep, gamey and tender (when treated properly) and it has been eaten for centuries across many cultures. Aside from the flavour, pigeon have always been an attractive prospect due to being a quick, easy-to-find source of protein – the eating of pigeon was especially ubiquitous in the wartime years when meat was strictly rationed.
Here in Norfolk & Suffolk we have so many of these beautiful wild birds, which are at their very best for me from the end of November, plump and flavourful after greedily gorging on wild fruits, but the autumnal season need not be strictly adhered to, as farmed squab are generally of very high quality in the UK, ensuring their availability all year round. The more relaxed lifestyles and consistent feeding of these farmed birds make their meat tender and plump.