Queens Choice Quail With Fig And Date Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• Cook onion, celery, and garlic in butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until pale golden, about 10 minutes. Add demi-glace and boil, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is evaporated, about 3 minutes. Stir in tarragon, vinegar, walnuts, dried figs, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper, then spread stuffing on a plate to cool.
• Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then brown figs, cut sides down, without stirring, about 3 minutes. Transfer figs to a bowl with a slotted spatula. Add shallot and celery to skillet and sauté, stirring, until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add wine and 8 to 10 browned fig halves (reserve remainder) and boil, stirring and mashing figs, until wine is reduced to a syrup, about 5 minutes. Stir in demi-glace and bring to a boil. Stir arrowroot into vinegar until dissolved, then add to skillet, whisking to incorporate. Boil sauce 2 minutes, then pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a 2-quart heavy saucepan, pressing on and then discarding solids. Stir in tarragon, salt, and pepper.
• Discard any disposable metal skewers from cavity of each quail, then rinse quail inside and out and pat dry. Stuff 1 quail with a scant 1/4 cup stuffing, pressing and shaping it to fill out breast. Tie legs together with string and push legs up against body. Thread cavity closed with a wooden pick. Repeat with remaining quail.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Sprinkle quail all over with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon each butter and oil in cleaned 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then brown 6 quail on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer with tongs to a large shallow baking pan. Wipe skillet clean and brown remaining 6 quail in same manner in remaining tablespoon each of butter and oil.
• Remove strings and picks from all quail, then roast quail, breast sides up, until just cooked through (check inner thigh - meat will still be slightly pink), 10 to 15 minutes. Add reserved browned figs to pan for last 2 to 3 minutes of roasting.
• While quail roast, return sauce to a simmer, then add remaining 2 tablespoons butter, whisking until incorporated.
• Transfer quail and figs to a serving dish and pour any juices from baking pan into sauce. Serve quail with sauce.
• Do Ahead: Stuffing can be made 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before proceeding. Figs and sauce (without remaining 2 tablespoons butter) can be prepared 1 day ahead and cooled, uncovered, then chilled separately, covered. Bring sauce to a simmer before adding butter. Quail can be browned 1 hour before roasting. Keep quail, uncovered, at room temperature.

Steps:

• Remove the backbones from the quail or ask your butcher to do this for you. Rinse and dry them on paper towels. Place in a shallow pan. Mix remaining ingredients, except pomegranate seeds and parsley, in a large bowl. Pour mixture over the quail and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Drain the quail and keep the marinade. Place the quail in a roasting pan with some olive oil and roast them for 15 minutes or until done. Meanwhile, strain the marinade into a pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook until syrupy. You may wish to add 1 teaspoon of butter or olive oil. Mix well. Taste the marinade and season, to taste.
• Pour the sauce onto 4 plates and place the roasted quail on top. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and parsley.

Steps:

• Heat butter in a saute pan and cook shiitake and chanterelle mushrooms with garlic until tender. While mushrooms are cooking, roll out pastry dough on a board. Season mushrooms with salt and pepper, remove from heat, stir in chives, and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Using a circle cutter, cut out 8 (3-inch) diameter dough circles and place on a baking sheet. (You can also cut into 3 by 3-inch squares). Place a spoonful of mushrooms on each pastry circle. Brush edges of dough with egg wash. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, then pull out the baking sheet and crack a quail's egg in the center of each "pizza" Bake 8 minutes more until egg is cooked to sunny side up.

Steps:

• To make a marinade, mix the herbs, lemon zest, brandy, seasoning and 6 tbsp olive oil in a large dish. Season the birds and spoon some marinade into the cavities. Roll them in the rest of the marinade, then cover and chill overnight.
• For the walnut sauce, whizz the garlic and walnuts together with a little salt in a small food processor until finely chopped. Add the oil in a thin stream, as though you're making a mayonnaise. Stir in 2 tbsp warm water. Season with pepper, add the parsley and set aside.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. To cook the quail, wipe any herbs from the breast area. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and, when really hot, quickly brown the birds all over, in batches, colouring but not cooking the meat.
• Put a piece of butter inside each bird and put them into a roasting tin. Roast in the oven for 15-20 mins, depending on whether you like the meat to be a little pink, adding a quarter of the vermouth after 10 mins. Put the figs in a small gratin dish in a single layer. Drizzle with the honey and balsamic, then season. Roast for 20 mins, alongside the quail, basting during cooking. The figs should be dark and tender but holding their shape. Cover to keep warm and set aside.
• Put the quail on a warm platter and cover. Put the roasting tin on the hob over a high heat. Add the rest of the vermouth, bring to the boil and bubble until there's 150ml left. Add the stock and boil until you have a slightly syrupy sauce, enough for 2 tbsp per serving of quail. Put two birds on each plate and spoon over the reduced sauce. Serve with three fig halves each and the walnut sauce.