Beef and Pigeon Crumble

Name: Beef and Pigeon Crumble
Yield: Serves 6–8
Ingredients: 8 pigeon breasts; 1 oz / 30 g seasoned flour; 1–1½ lb / 455–680 g shin of beef; ½ pt / 280 ml dry red wine or Guinness; ½ pt / 280 ml dry red wine or Guinness; 1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced; 1–2 tbsp olive oil; 2 bay leaves; 1 head of celery, trimmed and sliced; ½ pt / 280 ml pigeon or beef stock; ½ pt / 280 ml pigeon or beef stock; freshly ground black pepper; salt; 3 cloves; 6 allspice berries; 1 oz / 30 g hard cheese, freshly grated; 1 tbsp chopped herbs; 2 oz / 60 g butter; 6 oz / 170 g plain flour

Preparation info

Serves
6–8

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Times Cookbook

By Frances Bissell

Published 1995

About

A favourite variation on the pie theme is the crumble. Here the meat, which is better cooked the day before required, is topped with a savoury crumble that takes minutes to make and is then baked in the oven.

Ingredients

1–1½ lb / 455–680 g shin of beef
8 pigeon breasts

Main course

Method

Remove the tough outer skin from the beef, and cube both meats. Toss the meat in the seasoned flour. Brown the meat all over in the oil in a frying pan or flameproof casserole, remove from the pan and put to one side while you lightly brown the onion in the same pan. Pour on the wine or Guinness, and boil it, scraping up any cooking residues stuck to the pan. Add the stock and celery, and bring