Method:

To make the onion oil for this recipe, simply place 100ml of rapeseed or vegetable oil in a pot with:

• 3 1/2 fl oz of rapeseed oil
• 1/4 medium onion, finely chopped

Place on a medium heat for 5 minutes, remove and allow to infuse for 1-12 hours. Strain and set aside

Preheat the oven to 100°C set to steam

For the beetroot powder, vac pac the beetroot and cook in the steam oven for 30 minutes

• 2 1/4 lb of beetroot, cooked

Remove from the oven, slice thinly and dry in a dehydrator overnight until very crispy Blitz for 3 minutes in a blender on a high speed and then store until ready to serve
Preheat the oven to 100°C/gas mark 1/4
For the smoked beetroot, wash the beetroot before sealing in a large vac pac bag. Place in the oven and cook for 90 minutes

• 2 1/4 lb of large beetroot

Remove from the oven and allow to cool before cutting into 3mm slices. Using a 4cm pastry cutter, cut the discs down further into a uniform size.
Use a smoker with the chips to smoke the beetroot for 2 hours and set aside. The beetroot will need to be smoked again 30 minutes before serving

• 1 3/4 oz of wood chips

For the purée, wash and peel the beetroot before chopping into small cubes. Place in a vacuum bag with sugar and salt, seal and cook in the oven at 100°C for 80 minutes

• 2 large beetroots
• 1/3 oz of salt
• 3/4 oz of sugar

Remove from the bag and blitz in a blender before passing through a chinoise. Store in a vacuum pac bag and keep warm until needed, or simply re-heat in a pan before serving.
For the relish, heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and add the shallots. Fry until golden brown

• 3 1/2 oz of shallots, finely chopped
• 1 2/3 fl oz of oil

Add the grated beetroot, vinegar, salt and pepper to the pan. Allow to cool a little then seal in a vac pac bag until ready to use

• 1 1/3 lb of cooked beetroot, grated
• 1 1/3 fl oz of sherry vinegar
• salt
• pepper

Prepare the pigeon by first removing the skin, then the breasts

• 1 pigeon

• Place each breast into its own vac pac bag with 5ml of onion oil, some thyme, salt and pepper in each. Seal and cook in water bath for 15 minutes at 58°C
• salt
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• pepper

Remove the breasts from the bag and keep warm until needed
To make the pickled beetroot leaves, first wash and prep the leaves- if you are using large leaves cut out discs, or just use baby leaves Whilst preparing the other elements for plating, place the beetroot leaves into the sherry vinegar to lightly pickle

• beetroot leaves
• 1 1/3 fl oz of sherry vinegar

To serve, peel the pear and cut it into quarters. Using a small sieve, cover the pear with beetroot powder and slice just before serving

• 1 pear, fresh and ripe

Place a spoonful of the warm beetroot puree on the plate and use a pastry comb to create a streaky effect across the base of the plate <
lace the warm sliced pigeon breast at either end of the streak and place the pear in the middle. Follow with the discs of smoked beetroot, a few extra dollops of puree and the pickled beetroot leaves.