Piccioni alla Perugina

Description

 * 4 servings

Ingredients

 * 2 large pigeons plucked and cleaned with their giblets
 * 2 cups red wine
 * 1 tbsp herb vinegar
 * 5 tbsp olive oil
 * 5 black olives
 * 1 lemon
 * 2-3 leaves sage
 * salt

Directions

 * 1) Thread the pigeons onto the skewers, brush with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
 * 2) Arrange the skewers in the oven and splash the remaining wine and the vinegar into the basting tray underneath, along with the sliced lemon, the olives and the coarsely chopped sage leaves.
 * 3) Leave to roast for about 40 minutes.
 * 4) As soon as the pigeons are done, remove and mince the giblets and add them into the basting tray.
 * 5) Cut the pigeons in half and arrange on a large serving platter, dress with the roasting juices and serve accompanied with a few toasted slices of crusty white bread.
 * 6) For this recipe, baby pigeons should be used in adult birds the meat is usually less tender and has to be parboiled before roasting.