Cordornices Con Higos Quail With Figs Food

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.

POACHED FRESH FIGS

Steps:

• Combine wine, sugar, lemon zest, 1 1/2 cups water, thyme, and vanilla bean in a non-reactive medium size saucepan and heat to simmer, let simmer gently for 5 minutes.
• Add figs to the syrup and continue to simmer until the figs are tender about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let figs cool about 10 minutes in the syrup. Remove and discard the thyme.
• Divide the figs among four glasses or bowls and spoon the warm syrup over the fruits. Garnish with Creme Fraiche and fresh thyme sprigs.

PISTACHIO-STUFFED FIGS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to broil.
• Mash together the butter, sugar, pistachios and flour and chill for 1 hour.
• Cut a cross from the top about three-quarters of the way down into the figs. Divide chilled filling into as many balls as you have figs, and poke the filling into the openings of each fig. Broil until the nut mixture is golden and the figs hot, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or creme fraiche.

ROASTED QUAIL WITH BRIOCHE AND CHORIZO STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• For the Quail and Stuffing: Spread the brioche cubes on a baking sheet and bake until dry but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook until crispy, about 3 minutes. Add the celery, garlic, onion, sage and apricots and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and cool slightly.
• Add the brioche cubes to the vegetables and toss. Add the egg, salt, pepper, and enough of the chicken broth to moisten the bread, and toss.
• Season the quail inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff each quail loosely with the brioche mixture and tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Put the remaining stuffing into a lightly buttered casserole dish. (The recipe may be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead, covered, and refrigerated.)
• Bake the stuffing until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil in an ovenproof medium skillet over high heat. Add half the quail and cook, turning as each side gets a rich mahogany brown, about 8 minutes in all. Transfer to a low roasting pan or casserole dish just large enough to hold the quail. Repeat with the remaining quail, adding more olive oil if necessary. Reserve the skillet and drippings. Transfer the quail to the oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the cavity reads 160 degrees, about 20 minutes.
• For the Sauce: Add the shallots to the reserved drippings in the skillet over medium heat and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the red wine and simmer until reduced by about half, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits. Add the demi-glace or chicken stock, the apricots and currants. Simmer until fruit is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
• Transfer the quail to a plate and tent loosely with foil. Whisk the butter into the sauce a bit at a time until the sauce is glossy and coats the back of a spoon. (If necessary, gently reheat the sauce before whisking in the butter off the heat.)
• To serve, spoon some of the stuffing into the centers of 4 dinner plates. Set 2 quail on top, spoon some sauce over, and ring with some of the Wilted Greens.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and chard stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown, about 6 minutes. Stir in the chard leaves and cook, tossing, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

SWEET COUSCOUS WITH FIGS

Steps:

• Warm the milk with the butter, figs, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles form at the rim and it just begins to approach a boil. Stir in the couscous, cover, and remove form the heat. Let the couscous stand for about five minutes. Spoon into bowls and pass additional sugar at the table, along with milk if you wish.

DUCK CONFIT ON COUNTRY TOAST WITH FIG CHUTNEY

Steps:

• Place the duck legs in a shallow roasting pan, generously sprinkle with salt mixture (recipe follows) and pour over enough duck fat to cover. Cook in a preheated 275 degree oven for about 2/12 hours or until the meat is fork tender. Remove the legs from the fat to cool. Strain the fat and save for other uses (it will last a couple of weeks in the refrigerator).
• Slice the Italian bread into 1/2-inch thick slices. Sprinkle with some extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Toast in a 300 degree oven until golden.
• Put all of the ingredients except the mascarpone cheese in a heavy-bottom saucepan over low heat and cook until most of the liquid is evaporated. Stir occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper
• To serve, place fig chutney on a slice of the toasted Italian bread and top with a dollop of the mascarpone cheese. Serve the duck on the side. Or you might remove the bone from the leg, trying to keep the meat intact and serve it on top of the chutney. The duck legs will remain crisp if you prepare them the same day you will be serving them and keep them at room temperature for up to 3 hours.

QUAIL WITH ROSES

Steps:

• Marinate the quail in the jalapeno, rose water, honey, and soy overnight in the refrigerator.
• Remove the quail the marinade, and heat the marinade and chicken stock together. Boil and reduce until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
• Grill the quail 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Serve with the sauce and hydroponic rose petals.

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.

ROAST QUAIL WITH FRESH FIGS

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.