Pigeon with star anise, endive and black truffle

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4

Clean the pigeons and remove the legs. Carefully remove the thigh bones and the breast fillets from the carcasses – ask your butcher to prepare the birds if necessary. Arrange the carcasses and thigh bones on a baking tray and roast for 30 minutes until browned

Remove the roasted bones from the oven and place into a large casserole dish with the tomato, garlic, thyme and star anise. Season and cover with cold water, then bring up to the boil and simmer without a lid for 1 hour

Strain the stock through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Finely slice the morels and add to the pan with the stock, then heat gently until reduced to a sauce-like consistency. Remove from the heat and set aside, keeping warm until ready to serve

Place a frying pan over a medium heat and add a dash of oil. Add the pigeon thighs to the pan and fry until the skin is golden and crisp

Meanwhile, in a separate pan fry the breast fillets skin-side down for 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn the breasts over and fry for a further 2 minutes on the other side until medium rare

Remove the thighs and breasts from their respective pans and cover with a little foil, leaving the meat to rest for 5 minutes before serving

Meanwhile, thinly slice the endive into julienne and sauté quickly in a pan with a knob of butter until well-coloured

To serve, slice the pigeon breasts into even pieces and divide between the serving plates. Arrange the endive and thighs alongside the breast pieces and drizzle over the star anise sauce, garnishing with shavings of black truffle