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Piccioni Alla Perugina

Roasted pigeons on skewers with wine, vinegar, olives, lemon, sage, and olive oil.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Lemon and sage match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 887 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Piccioni Alla Perugina

Timeabout 40 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare and roast

  1. Thread the pigeons onto the skewers, brush with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt.

  2. Arrange the skewers in the oven and splash the remaining wine and vinegar into the basting tray underneath, along with sliced lemon, olives, and coarsely chopped sage leaves.

  3. Roast for about 40 minutes.

  4. When the pigeons are done, remove them, mince the giblets, and add them to the basting tray.

Serve

  1. Cut the pigeons in half, arrange on a large serving platter, dress with the roasting juices, and serve with toasted slices of crusty white bread.

  2. Use baby pigeons; adult birds need parboiling before roasting.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

165Calories
1 gProtein
14 gFat
5 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Olive1 large (4g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Sage1 tsp ground (0.7g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Lemon + sagetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together887 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Olive + lemontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,922 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Olive + sagetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,138 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  4. Red wine + vinegartop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together575 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  5. Vinegar + olivetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,297 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Pigeons
Provide the main meat, which stays moist when roasted on skewers over a basting tray.
Olive oil
Coats the birds, helping the skin brown and keeping the meat from drying out.
Red wine
Flavours the basting liquid and the pan juices that are spooned over the birds.
Herb vinegar
Adds acidity to the basting liquid, balancing the richness of the birds.
Lemon
Adds bright acidity and aroma to the roasting juices.

The step that matters

Use baby pigeons; adult birds need parboiling before roasting.. Adult pigeons have tougher meat that can stay chewy after roasting alone. Parboiling first softens the muscle fibres, so the birds cook through and turn tender.

Swap the sage

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (red wine, vinegar, olive, lemon):

  1. Rosemaryfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Peppermintfits better
  4. Sagethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against red wine, vinegar, olive, lemon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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