Braised Quails in Wild Mushroom Sauce

Sounds good, eh?

These little tasty birds were on offer, and made a nice change from chicken / beef / chicken / beef.

And then I realised that you usually have to baste these birdies and use quite a lot of fat to keep them moist and make them tender.

But I wasn't going to let a little detail like that deter me, and so here is what I did:

For 2 people

4 quails
2 onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
A small handful of dried wild mushrooms, rehydrated and keep the liquid!
3 tbsp corn flour
1 large glass of cooking wine, in this case Noilly Prat
1 chicken stock cube
8 carrots, cut into batons (optional if you are in PP)

First, brown the quails in a non-stick pan without any fat. Season.

In a casserole which will fit the quails kind of snugly, soften the onions with some water on low heat. Turn up the heat and add the wine. Let it bubble away a bit, then add the garlic, carrots, mushrooms (incl. liquid), stock cube and finally snugly fit the quails into this. Get it to the boil, then leave it on a low-ish simmer for 25-35 minutes (test that the juices are running clear and that you can pretty much tear the leg off easily).

Take the quails out, keep them warm and then add the cornflour mixed with a bit of cold water to the sauce and let it thicken. Season to taste. I added a bit of lemon juice to balance out the sweetness.

Serve and enjoy. And you know what? The birds were tender as can can be! I could not believe it. Ok, when we are done with Dudu, I'll do this again, but brown them in some butter and oil to bring out an even nicer colour.

Spanish Chicken

And... We're back for a short round of Dudu!

Starting with a few PP days, I wanted to try something new to keep me motivated. And it was met with a resounding "I hope you make this soon again".

I made this in 2 stages, just because I had time to prepare it yesterday, but we were going out, and then we would have it all ready for tonight.

In a 180C oven.

In an oven-proof casserole:
- cover bottom of the casserole with sliced onion, sliced garlic, heaped tsp of pimenton (smoked Spanish paprika) and barely cover with tomato passata and tiny bit of water
- on top, place the chicken pieces so that the skin won't get under the sauce

Cover with a lid and cook for 45 minutes or until juices run clear.

Now this is where I took the whole thing and placed it outside (it's November, and it wouldn't fit in the fridge) until tonight. If cooking it the same day, just adjust the following cooking time accordingly, since you won't need to bring the whole dish up to temperature first.

So I pre-heated the oven to 200 C and put the casserole in, lid OFF this time and let the sauce bubble down to a thick sticky mess and the chicken skin get crispy (I know, skin is a no no in this diet, but guess what... I can't throw it away!). It took roughly 1 hour

I think this might work well as a technique with all sorts of other flavours. To be continued...

Zingy Spring Stew

After several months of non-compliance, we are back on the wagon. But the seasons have moved on and the last thing I feel like at the moment are autumnal and winter dishes. Coupled with a new kitchen (in a new home), my inspiration has returned and I decided to bring back my beloved stew but in a fresh form. It's already smelling good, but it's for tomorrow so no idea if the taste will match. Here's to hoping.

If you can trust me on smell alone, here is what I bunged into a oven-proof casserole 1,5 hours ago.

Diced stewing steak
1 whole leek
2 celery stalks
Coriander seeds
Fennel seeds
Peppercorns
Bay leaves
Fresh rosemary
Fresh thyme
White wine
Paired zest from one lemon

Let me know if it works for you. Bon appetit!

Cottage Pie della Mamma!

This is really a misnomer for what is a bolognese ragu, topped with root vegetable mash, but I had to call it something. I actually prefer shepherd's pie (with left-over lamb), but Dr D. doesn't approve of lamb...

For the ragu:
Low fat mince beef

Chopped finely in mixer:
A few carrots
Some celeriac
Celery stalks
Onions
Garlic

Red wine (all the alcohol will evaporate!)
Tomato passata
Tinned tomatoes
Tomato puree
Bay leaves
Rosemary

Brown the meat in a large, deep saucepan. When all browned, add the chopped vegetables, then all the other ingredients. Bring to the boil, then leave to simmer covered for 1 hour, stirring now and then. Then take the lid off and let some of the liquid evaporate until you get a thick ragu (should take 1/2 hour).

I like to do this the day before, to let the flavours develop.

For the mash:

Whatever root vegetables you like. In our case it's mostly celeriac and swede, boiled in salted water and then blended.

Pour a thick layer of the meat sauce (reheated) in a deep dish (or individual ones), and top with the mash. Grill until the mash is brown and the ragu bubbling through.

To give credit where credit is due, Skat always prepares the ragu, but 'della Mamma' sounds so much better than 'del Pappa' :-)

And our pie will be enjoyed tomorrow night. Yum!