Hatched Pigeon Soup (Veneto)

Ingredients

Plump pigeons or squabs, dressed - 3

Butter- 5 tbsps

Carrot, finely chopped - 1

Onion, sliced - 1 small

Celery, chopped - 1 stalk

Dry white wine - 1 cup

Salt and pepper

Bread, crisply fried- 12 slices

Meat stock- 5 cups

Grated parmesan cheese- 1 1/2 cups

Wipe the pigeons and singe them if necessary . Melt the butter in a large pan or casserole and gently saute the carrot, onion and celery for a few minutes. Add the pigeons and brown them all over. Pour in the wine, season to taste with salt and pepper, and continue to cook slowly, covered, until the pigeons are tender.

Take the pigeons from the pan and let them cool, then pull as much meat from the bones as possible. Soak the fried bread in stock. Lay 3 slices of bread on the bottom of a deep baking dish, add a layer of pigeon meat and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Continue in this order until all the ingredients are used up, finishing with a layer of bread. Pour the remaining stock over the top and put the dish into a very low oven (250F) to "hatch". Bake for 4 hours, or until bread is dry but soft, moistening with a little more hot stock during this time if necessary.

This popular soup is considered even better if left until the day after it has been made, then slowly reheated in the oven. If by chance it has become too dry, extra stock may be added.

Serves 6.