Roasted Wood Pigeon in Lavender Shortcrust Pastry

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C for fan assisted) / Gas Mark 4.
2. Sear the pigeon in a hot pan on all sides, baste with the butter and season well.
3. Lay out the pastry and sprinkle over the lavender, then roll out to imbed the lavender into the pastry.
4. Cut the pastry into the shapes needed to create the pigeon. For the body - 15 – 20cm square depending on the size of the bird (enough to cover the body), for the wings - 6 x 9cm rectangles with the corner rounded across the length of one side and for the head roll up some of the leftover pastry pieces into a ping pong sized ball (around 4cm in diameter).
5. Wrap the pastry that was pre-cut for the body around the pigeon, egg wash then attach the wings and the head and egg wash again.
6. Place the bird onto a baking tray and insert two cloves for eyes.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.