🌎 The World Cookbook

4 to 6 pigeons or 8 to 16 doves, plucked
Olive oil to coat them
EGYPTIAN SPICE RUB:
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
1/4 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried mint
1 tablespoon kosher salt
GREEN WHEAT SALAD:
2 cups freekeh or bulgur wheat
2 cups pigeon or dove broth or chicken broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup minced shallots
2 minced garlic cloves
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 tablespoons high-quality olive oil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Salt and black pepper
Lemon juice to taste

Mix all the spices for the rub together. Coat the pigeons or doves with oil, then dust with the spice rub. Put the birds in a covered container in the fridge for 3 hours, or up to overnight. An hour before you plan to cook them, take the birds out of the fridge and let them rest on the counter to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, make the green wheat salad. Bring the broth to a boil and add the freekeh or bulgur. Stir, let it come back to a boil, then cover and turn off the heat. It should be ready in 30 minutes or so. Put the olive oil in a frying pan and turn the heat to medium-high. When the oil is hot, saute the shallots for a minute or two, or until they just start to brown. Add the garlic and bell pepper, saute for another minute, then turn off the heat. Get your grill hot. Charcoal is your best bet here, but any sort of open flame will work. When the grill is hot, drizzle a little more olive oil on the pigeons and set them on the grill, breast side up. Let them cook like this for 10 minutes, making sure they don't get burned to a crisp. You want to do most of the cooking with the breast side up. Flip the birds and set them breast side down on the grill, making sure the middle of the breast slips between the grill grates -- this helps the birds lie flat. If you want to get better contact with the grill, place a brick on the pigeons while they cook on this side. Grill for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how hot your fire is and how well done you like your birds; I prefer my doves and pigeons to be pink inside. Take the birds off the grill and let them rest, breast side up. To finish the salad, mix the green wheat or bulgur into the frying pan and add the olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper, plus lemon juice to taste. Serve alongside the pigeons.

NOTE: Squab is a young domesticated pigeon that has never flown.