Ingredients

4 pigeons
4oz/100g red or white grapes
A good handful each of fresh thyme, marjoram, rosemary and savour, or 2 teaspoons each, dried
20z/500g finely grated brown breadcrumbs
½ bottle white wine
3 hard-boiled egg yolks, chopped
8fl oz/300ml good stock
4oz/100g butter
Salt and pepper 
Verjuice made with 2 lemons
4 blades of mace 

Method

Chop the herbs roughly, mix them well together and stuff each bird with some of the mixture and a blade of mace.  (if you cannot get all the herbs fresh, use teaspoonfuls of dried herbs mixed to a paste with some of the butter; spread this inside the bird instead).  Put the pigeons in a deep saucepan, and pour on to them enough wine and stock to just cover them.  Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, season to taste and cook, covered, for about 40 minutes.  Put the grapes in and keep cooking for a further 20 minutes.

Take the pigeons out when they are tender, put them into a serving dish – Mrs Woolley recommends a ‘boiled meat-dish’ and keep them hot.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, and add some of the broth from the pigeons and the verjuice.  Stir well.  Mash the egg yolks to a smooth paste, then mix in some of the broth and verjuice. 

Add the breadcrumbs, stir well, then return it all to the main saucepan and simmer, stirring gently, for a few minutes.  The sauce should have the consistency of single (thin) cream so you may need to add more of the cooking broth. 

Pour some of the sauce round the pigeons, along with the grapes, and serve the rest separately in a jug or gravy boat.

Serves 4.