Bstella With Squab Food

SQUAB B'STILLA

Steps:

• Make filling:
• Heat a dry 12-inch heavy skillet over low heat and toast saffron 1 minute, then transfer to a small dish and crumble. Reserve skillet.
• Cut off wings from squabs with a sharp small knife and discard, then cut off legs with thighs. Using kitchen shears, cut out backbone and ribs and discard. Cut breasts in half lengthwise with shears. Pat legs and breast halves dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Heat olive oil in skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown squab in 2 batches, skin side down first, turning over once, about 6 minutes total per batch, transferring as browned to a platter.
• After second batch is browned, return all squab pieces to skillet along with onion, garlic, jalapeño, cumin, ginger, saffron, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, then sauté, stirring, 1 minute.
• Add Sherry and boil 30 seconds, scraping up any brown bits. Add broth and water and simmer, covered, turning squab over once or twice, until tender, about 40 minutes.
• Transfer squab with tongs to a platter and reserve cooking liquid in skillet. When squab is cool enough to handle, discard skin and bones and finely shred meat, then toss with 3 tablespoons cooking liquid and cover loosely with foil.
• Boil remaining cooking liquid in skillet (without straining) over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until sauce is very thick and reduced to about 1/2 cup, 12 to 15 minutes, then transfer to a 1 1/2- to 2-quart heavy saucepan. (Do not skim fat from sauce.)
• Whisk together eggs and 1/4 cup sauce in a bowl until combined, then whisk into remaining sauce in saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heatproof rubber spatula, until eggs just set into very soft curds, 5 to 7 minutes. (Mixture will have the consistency of very soft oatmeal.) Immediately transfer egg mixture to a bowl and stir in parsley and cilantro. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
• Assemble and bake
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Heat vegetable oil in a 10-inch skillet over moderate heat until just hot, then fry almonds, stirring frequently, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain almonds and cool on a paper-towel-lined plate.
• Brush a 9-inch round cake pan with some of butter. Cover stack of phyllo with plastic wrap and a dampened kitchen towel. Keeping remaining phyllo covered, place 1 sheet on a work surface and brush with butter. Fold in half crosswise and butter again. Repeat with another sheet, buttering, folding, and buttering, then place over first sheet crosswise. Repeat with 2 more sheets, buttering, folding, and buttering, then placing each sheet on top of the previous one in a star pattern to form a round. (Sheets should not align.) Lift stacked phyllo and gently fit into bottom of cake pan and halfway up side.
• Sprinkle almonds over phyllo, then stir squab into egg mixture and spread evenly in phyllo shell.
• Put 1 of remaining sheets of phyllo on a work surface and brush with butter. Fold in half crosswise and butter again. Fold in half (to quarter) and brush with butter. Repeat with remaining sheet phyllo and lay over first sheet crosswise. Place over center of filling. Bring edges of phyllo from side of pan up over filling and quartered top sheets.
• Bake b'stilla until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then invert onto a platter and let stand 5 minutes.
• Sift confectioners sugar over top of b'stilla, then remaining 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Cut into wedges.

SQUAB MARSALA

Steps:

• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil over high heat. Sprinkle the squab breasts and legs with salt and pepper. When the pan is hot, place the squab skin-side down into the pan and sear until golden and crispy, about 6 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until the squab is medium rare, 1 minute longer. Transfer to a plate to rest.
• Degrease the pan, leaving a couple tablespoons of fat. Add the shallots to the drippings in the pan and sprinkle with salt, scraping up the drippings with a wooden spoon. Saute the shallots until they begin to soften, 1 minute, and then add the mushrooms and saute until they just start to soften up.
• Carefully pour in the cognac off the heat, and then return the pan to the heat until the alcohol has completely cooked off and the pan is almost dry. Pour in the marsala and ignite again, allowing the wine to cook until the flame dies down. Add the chicken stock and simmer to reduce the sauce slightly, about 3 minutes.
• Return the squab to the pan and simmer gently to heat through, 1 minute. Plate 1 leg and breast per plate. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the creme fraiche and butter, whisking until just incorporated. Stir in the parsley and sage. Taste and adjust the seasoning, and then pour the sauce around the squab.

LAQUERED SQUAB WITH LONG BEANS

Steps:

• For the glaze: Add the sugar to an unheated rondeau. Gently heat the pan, stirring constantly, to create a dry caramel. Stop the cooking process by adding the champagne vinegar. Cook and reduce by half. Add white port, and again reduce by half. Add white wine, and again reduce by half. Add the orange and lemon zest, cinnamon sticks, and pomegranate juice. Cook and reduce by half. Strain. Transfer liquid to a clean saucepot and reduce until it is a syrupy consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• For the vegetables: Heat 2 saute pans, and put 1 tablespoon of corn oil in each. Add the plantains to 1, and toss to coat. Add the butter to the pan, and sprinkle with sugar and a dash each of salt and pepper. Note: If the plantains are extremely ripe, which is ideal, you can omit the sugar: the plantains will contain enough. Continue to cook until the plaintains are golden, then remove them to a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Next, heat the other tablespoon of oil in the other pan and add the long beans. Coat them with the oil. Add the shallots and bacon, and cook all until tender. Add the carmelized plaintains to the pan, toss everything together, and cook for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside.
• For the squab liver: In a saute pan, heat corn oil. Pan sear the liver to a rosy hue. Remove from heat.
• For the squab: Season the squab with salt and pepper. Heat a small rondeau, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil and heat to the oil's smoking point. Place the squab in the pan, and cook on each side until a golden brown color is achieved. Remove from the pan and allow to rest for 12 minutes. Debone the squab so that you have 2 sections of meat, each consisting of half the breast meat and the meat of 1 leg. Heat a clean rondeau, and add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil. Cook the squab meat until the fat is rendered and the skin is crisp. After 2 minutes, add the butter. When all steam has evaporated and the butter begins to bubble, baste the squab for 3 minutes. Remove from the rondeau and allow to rest. With a kitchen brush, coat the squab with the pomegranate glaze. Plate with warmed vegetables, and garnish with mint.

B'STILLA

Steps:

• In a large pot, melt ¼ cup of butter over moderate heat and add chickens, parsley, onion, saffron and 2 cups water.
• Bring mixture to boil and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to cutting board, reserving liquid, and let cool.
• Shred chicken and return meat to liquid.
• Bring to boil and cook, stirring, until almost all liquid is evaporated.
• Let cool.
• In a bowl, combine almonds and 1 cup of sugar.
• Add ½ of almond mixture to chicken, stir in beaten eggs, pepper and 2 tsps cinnamon.
• Preheat oven to 330°F and place rack in middle of oven.
• Line a buttered 13 x 14 inch ovenproof dish with 1 sheet of phyllo.
• Brush generously with butter.
• Layer 5 more sheets of phyllo in the same way, brushing each one generously with butter.
• Sprinkle remaining almond mixture over phyllo and top with chicken.
• Cover with remaining 4 sheets of phyllo, buttered, folding in edges to enclosed filling and brushing more butter over top.
• Bake pastry for 25-30 minutes, or until crisp and golden.
• Sift remaining ¼ cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon over top.

MOROCCAN B'STELLA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in pan, then add onions, chicken pieces, parsley, cilantro, black pepper, saffron, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and salt.
• Stir well and add the 2 cups of water.
• Cover with a lid and cook for 20 minutes.
• Remove the chicken from pan and set aside.
• Allow the sauce to cool slightly then add the beaten eggs to the sauce in the pan.
• Cook the eggs with the sauce stirring continually so eggs won't stick.
• When eggs are cooked, remove the pan from the heat and drain the eggs well in a colander.
• Set he eggs aside to cool.
• Open the phyllo and cover with a damp towel so it will not dry out.
• Take an 8-10 inch round baking pan/dish and cover generously with butter.
• Very gently, spread 5 sheets of phyllo dough alternately criss-cross over the pan, leaving some phyllo dough draped around the edges of the pan.
• Add another sheet of phyllo crunched in the middle of the pan.
• Mix together the 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon & 1/2 teaspoon sugar in a small bowl.
• Pour some of the cinnamon sugar all around the phyllo.
• Then, add 1/2 of the roasted crushed almonds.
• Cover with 3 more layers of phyllo and pour on 1/2 of the eggs with half of the chicken.
• Cover again with 3 layers of phyllo and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar and almonds.
• Cover with 3 layers of phyllo and pour on the rest of the eggs and the chicken.
• Cover with 2 layers of crunched phyllo and close the draping edges very gently like a rose, without pushing, it needs to be very fluffy.
• Pour the melted butter over the phyllo and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.
• Turn the pan upside down onto a large platter. Mix together remaining cinnamon and sugar.
• Garnish with powdered sugar and make a design with the mixture of cinnamon and sugar if desired.
• Serve hot.