Ingredients

• 2 oz butter       
• ½ oz corn flour
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil    
• 1 teaspoon tomato puree
• 2 pigeons, quartered    
• ¼ pt stock
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry    
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 clove garlic – crushed    
• 1 orange - sliced
• 14 oz can of black cherries    
• small bunch watercress

Method

Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan.  Add the pieces of pigeon and brown lightly.  Pour the sherry over.  Remove the pigeon from pan and place on a hot dish.  Put the garlic and half the drained cherries into the pan.  Allow to cook for a few minutes.

Blend the cornflour with a little of the drained cherry juice and tomato puree.  Add to the sherry mixture in the pan with the rest of the cherry juice and the stock.  Cook over a moderate heat, stirring well until the sauce has thickened. 

Put the pigeons back into the pan and add the bay leaf.  Cover with foil and a lid and simmer over a low heat for 1½ - 2 hours.

Arrange pigeons on a dish with the sauce poured over, and garnished with the rest of the cherries, slices of orange and watercress.