Cordornices Con Higos Quail With Figs Recipes

QUAILS WITH FIGS & WALNUT SAUCE

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.

BOUDIN-STUFFED QUAIL WITH CRANBERRY-BOURBON SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground pork and chicken liver and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 10 minutes. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic, and continue to saute for 5 minutes.
• Bring 2 cups water and a pinch of salt to a boil in a small saucepan. Add rice, cover, and bring back to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
• In a small saucepan, combine the cranberries, bourbon and sugar in pan. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, over medium heat until the berries are soft and the sugar is dissolved, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool bit, then pour into a blender and puree until smooth.
• Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the quail with salt, pepper, cayenne, chili powder and smoked paprika. Swirl some canola oil in the skillet and then add the quail. Cook on one side for about 5 minutes; flip and cook for another 5 minutes-the quail won't be fully cooked yet, but that's okay. Set aside.
• Mix the cooked rice into the ground pork mixture and season with salt, pepper and cayenne¿now you have boudin.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Stuff each quail with boudin and place back in the cast-iron skillet. Roast until cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Serve the stuffed quail atop cranberry-bourbon sauce.

QUEEN'S CHOICE QUAIL WITH FIG AND DATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Early in the day, place the limes in s small bowl and microwave them for about 3 minutes to release the essential oils. Set aside briefly until they are just cool enough to handle. Rinse the quail and dry with paper towels. Set the quail in a non-reactive bowl and squeeze the lime juice over, and then season generously with freshly ground black pepper. Let sit refrigerated for about 3 or 4 hours.
• While the quail are marinating, make the sauce. Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a medium saute pan and saute the shallots until translucent. Deglaze the pan with the red wine, and stir in figs and dates and let sauce reduce by half. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper as needed.
• On the episode, the quail were roasted over a spit. If you have a rotisserie arrangement you can roast them that way. Otherwise, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine olive oil with rosemary, thyme, and salt, and rub over surface of the quail. Roast until tender but still juicy, about 20 minutes. Remove and let rest. Serve with fig and date sauce.

CHICKEN WITH FIGS (POLLO CON HIGOS)

Steps:

• Pour enough boiling water over the figs in a heatproof bowl to cover them completely.
• Add 1 tbs. sugar to figs.
• Let stand until the figs are softened, about 20 minutes, depending on your figs. (You don't need to do this if you are using fresh figs.).
• Cut off the skin from the slab bacon, then cut the bacon into ½ inch slices. (To remove the skin from the bacon, start by using a paring knife to separate the skin from the fat at one corner, then lift the skin up as you continue cutting, making it easier to see what you're doing.).
• Cut the slices crosswise into ½ inch strips.
• Toss the bacon pieces into a large cold skillet and put the pan over medium heat.
• Cook the bacon, stirring it once or twice, until it starts to give up its fat.
• Cook, stirring often, until it is well browned, about 10 minutes.
• Scoop the bacon onto paper towels with a slotted spoon and set aside, then pour off almost all the fat from the pan reserving about 1 tbs. of fat.
• Add the celery, onion, carrot, and thyme to reserved fat and cook, still over medium heat, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
• Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir everything together until the flour coats the vegetables and picks up all the fat.
• Adjust the heat to low and keep stirring until there are no traces of raw white flour sticking to the vegetables, which would give an unpleasant taste to the finished sauce.
• Stir in the tomato paste and cook for a minute or two.
• Take the pan off the heat and pour in the cognac. Return the pan to the heat and boil until the cognac is almost evaporated.
• Stand back from the pan once you add the cognac; there is a chance it could burst into flames.
• Pour the broth into the pan, stirring to dissolve the flour.
• Toss in the bay leaves and cloves and bring to a boil.
• Adjust the heat so the sauce is at a gentle boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is lightly thickened, about 30 minutes.
• Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper.
• Pour enough vegetable oil into a large deep skillet to lightly coat the bottom.
• Heat over medium-high heat until the oil is rippling.
• Add as many pieces of chicken skin side down to the pan as will fit without crowding.
• Cook, turning once, until dark golden brown on both sides, about 10 minutes. The chicken doesn't have to be cooked through; it will finish cooking in the sauce.
• Transfer the browned pieces to a large paellera or Dutch oven and brown the rest of the chicken, in batches if necessary.
• Skim off any foam or fat that rises to the surface of the sauce as it cooks.
• Strain the sauce, discard the vegetables and add sauce to the browned chicken.
• Drain the figs and discard the liquid.
• Scatter the bacon and figs over the chicken, breaking up some of the figs as you go to help the sauce thicken.
• Bring the sauce to a boil, cover the paellera and cook until the chicken is tender and the figs are very soft and have started to dissolve into the sauce, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Serve with yellow rice.
• * If your stovetop is occupied, you can finish cooking this dish in an oven preheated to 350°F It will take about the same amount of time as the stovetop version. Handle the wide, heavy pan carefully when moving it into and out of the oven.
• * If using fresh figs, wash them gently and cut them into quarters before adding. Otherwise, proceed as above.