Posts Tagged ‘shallot’

The uncommon delicacy of quail

Sunday, June 1st, 2008


Quail is the collective name for several mid-sized birds of the pheasant family. They are seed eaters that nest in the ground and are capable of short, rapid bursts of flight.

The common quail was previously favoured in French cooking, but the quail that makes it to our tables nowadays is most likely to be the domesticated Japanese quail, as this species is now bred throughout the world for culinary use. When choosing quail, female birds are the better option as they have a higher proportion of meat.

The quail egg is the smallest of all commercially available eggs. They have a beautiful speckled shell and a thick membrane that makes themeasy to peel when warm. The yolk is extremely large in proportion to the volume of the egg and is more dense in consistency than a chicken egg, with the white being more watery. Quail eggs are considered a delicacy and are sometimes used raw in sushi.

Quail can be bought in Ireland in most quality supermarkets and butchers. As far as I am aware there are no Irish breeders of quail. The variety we use in the restaurant is La Belle Rouge.

The following recipe, as with most of my recipes, can be tried in its entirety or the separate components can be done separately. I hope you enjoy it.

Roast quail with savoy cabbage, potato confit, tarte tatin of shallot, quail egg brioche and thyme sauce (serves four)


4 quail
Marinade as follows:
1 bunch thyme
1 small clove garlic
15ml olive oil
12 peppercorns
1 bayleaf
salt/pepper

Method
Remove quail legs and thigh bones. Make a marinade by mixing all the above ingredients together. Pour it over the quail leaving it overnight in the fridge. Remove the quail from the marinade, season and brown in a hot pan on three sides.

Place the quail into oven at 180 C for 10 minutes. Check and baste often. Remove quail and allow to rest for two minutes. Remove both breasts from each bird. Season the flesh side of the breast and place the two sides together. Serve on top of the cabbage.

Thyme sauce
5g thyme leaves
100ml white wine
10ml red wine
1 tsp sherry vinegar
1 shallot (diced)
300ml chicken stock

Method
Dice shallots and wash the thyme. Place red wine, white wine and vinegar in pot. Add shallots and thyme and cook until reduced to glaze. Add stock and reduce by half. Correct seasoning. Fold in butter and it’s ready to serve.

Ballontine of quail
8 quail legs
4 quail hearts and livers
1 small bunch chives
Salt/ pepper to taste
12ml brandy
1 egg yolk
1ml thyme oil

Method
Remove all of the bone and the skin from four of the quail legs, but retain the skin for later.

Remove only the thigh bone from the other four, remove the skin and cut the meat into small pieces.

Make a farce with the heart, liver and this quail meat by adding the egg yolk, brandy, salt/pepper and mixing, then passing the mixture through a fine sieve. Chop the chives and mix in, then correct the seasoning.

Fill the remaining legs with the farce and fold the skin back over the leg. Season and wrap the legs tightly in clingfilm and then in tinfoil. Cook in boiling water for 12 minutes.

Remove and rest for a further 10 minutes.

Remove the wrapping and serve with the cabbage and quail breast.

Savoy cabbage
1 head savoy cabbage (shredded)
10g unsalted butter
Salt/pepper
tsp of olive oil
100ml water
1 shallot (diced)

Method
Remove outer leaves of cabbage, cut remainder in quarter and shred finely. Wash cabbage and dice the shallot.

Heat a pan and add the butter and shallot, then add the cabbage. Season and cook for two minutes.

Add water and cook for a further three minutes. Drain and toss in the butter.

Quail egg brioche
4 quail eggs
Sea salt
4 rings of brioche
Clarified butter
Salt

Method
Cut four slices of brioche and cut into 5cm circles. Then cut into rings by taking out the centre with a cutter. Heat a pan and melt butter, then cook brioche until golden brown.

Break the eggs into each of the brioche rings, season with salt and continue to cook until soft. Serve.

Potato confit
4 potatoes cut into cylinders
200ml duck fat
1 sprig of thyme
14 white peppercorns
5g sea salt

Method
Cut potato into four cylinder shapes approx 3cm long. Season and place in warm pan.

Cover with duck fat, add sprig of thyme and cook in the oven at 65 C for approx 30 minutes. Remove, season and serve.

Tarte tatin of shallot
4 shallots
Butter
Sugar
4 rounds of puff pastry
Egg wash

Method
Peel shallots and saute whole until golden brown. Add butter and sugar and caramelise.

Place in small moulds and cover with puff pastry.

Egg-wash and bake in oven at 185 C for 12 minutes.

Remove and allow to rest for a couple of minutes, then turn out and serve.

Kevin Thornton is a Michelin-starred chef and owner of Thornton’s Restaurant on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin. www.thorntonsrestaurant.com

Tags: , , , ,

Meeting the vegetarian challenge

Sunday, May 4th, 2008


Eating out can be a frustrating task for vegetarians. My partner and youngest son were non-meat eaters for 12 years, and finding a restaurant with good vegetarian choices was never an easy task.

But living with non-meat eaters challenged me to develop lots of new vegetarian dishes, and I am proud of the vegetarian menu at Thornton’ s.

A ridiculously high proportion of vegetables consumed in Ireland are imported from other countries. When cooking with vegetables, try and opt for locally grown, seasonal produce, which should have a good flavour.


Ingredients – open celeriac ravioli with St George mushrooms and shallot sauce

Celeriac mousse
1 diced shallot
200g celeriac, peeled and diced
100ml cream
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg
7g sea salt
4g fresh milled pepper
10ml of truffle oil
Butter for the mould

Ingredients – lasagne
12 celeriac slices (thinly sliced)
1 celeriac mousse
2 shallots
5 strings of chopped chives
10g unsalted butter
12 sliced St George mushrooms
4 morel mushrooms
10ml olive oil
250ml water
Sea salt
Fresh milled pepper
Sliced spring truffle

Ingredients – truffle sauce
1 diced shallot
100ml of truffle juice
200ml of vegetable stock
5g truffle trimmings
20ml Madeira wine
Drop of truffle oil
20g unsalted butter, cubed
Sea salt
Fresh milled pepper

Ingredients – garnish
12 peeled pearl onions
12 morel mushrooms
12 white turnips, washed and peeled
12 slices of truffle
10ml truffle oil
5ml olive oil
1tsp honey
5g unsalted butter
100ml water
Sea salt
Fresh milled white pepper

Method: celeriac ravioli
1. Heat a pot and add the truffle oil, then add the celeriac season with salt and pepper. Cook on a low heat for ten minutes without colouring the vegetable. Add the cream and bring the mixture to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook until the celeriac is soft.

2. Remove from the heat and pure´e the mixture in a blender, then cool slightly.

3. Mix in the egg yolks and whole egg, taste and correct the seasoning.

4. Butter a medium-sized terrine dish, add the celeriac puree and put the lid on top.

5. Place the terrine in a bain-marie (a container half-full with hot water) and put it in the oven at 110C for approx 50 minutes.

6. Stick a knife into the mousse to test if it’s done – if it comes out clean, it’s cooked.

7. Remove from the oven and let the mousse rest for 20 minutes. Place a tray on top of the terrine, turn it upside down carefully and remove the terrine from the mousse. Cut into slices for use in the lasagne.

Method: lasagne
1. Heat a pot and bring the water to the boil, along with the butter and sea salt. Add the sliced celeriac and cook for two minutes. Remove and season with pepper.

2. Season the St George mushrooms and saute in a hot pan, using a drop of olive oil. Add the chopped chives, taste and correct the seasoning.

3. Assemble the lasagne by placing a slice of the celeriac mousse in the centre of the plate, then laying a celeriac slice on top.
Add another layer of mousse and place the sliced mushrooms on top. Place a few slices of truffle on top of the mousse, then cover with a slice of celeriac, then mushroom, then truffle.
Finish off the top with a whole St George mushroom.

Method: truffle sauce
1. Heat a pot, add the oil and saute the shallot without colouring it.

2. Add the truffle juice and Madeira and reduce by half. Add the vegetable stock and reduce the liquid by three quarters, taste and season. Fold in the butter and serve.

Method: garnish
1. Melt the butter in a pot, add the pearl onions, season and pour over 20ml of water. Cook at low heat for five to ten minutes, and correct the seasoning.

2. Heat a little olive oil in a pan, add the turnips and season. Add the honey and cook over a low heat for a few minutes (do not let the honey caramelise, all you are trying to do is take the bitterness out of the turnip). Add the rest of the water and cook over a low heat for a few minutes, then correct the seasoning, When all the liquid has evaporated the turnips should be cooked.

3. Wipe the mushrooms clean with a cloth, then heat a little truffle oil in a pan. Add the mushrooms, season and saute for one minute. Remove and serve.

To serve
Place the lasagne in the centre of the plate, arrange the vegetables around the plate, add the truffle sauce and serve with new potatoes.

Kevin Thornton is a Michelin-starred chef and owner of Thornton’s Restaurant on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin.
www.thorntonsrestaurant.com

Tags: , , , ,

Seasonal success is all in the game

Sunday, December 16th, 2007


Game birds such as mallard, teal, partridge and pheasant are readily available in most good quality butchers over the coming months, and I always take advantage of this bounty, as they aren’t around for long.

Where I grew up in the country, it was normal to hunt, shoot and fish for the food that surrounded us. When the game season came along, there was enormous excitement, and I shot my first pheasant when I was only ten years old. I was out with my Uncle James, who was absolute in his respect for the birds we were hunting: if you couldn’t kill it with a clean shot, then you shouldn’t shoot it.

Pheasant is in season from September to February. It is best to cook a young hen (under a year old),which has a more delicate flavour and a fine texture.

Cocks are a little larger and coarser. This bird is best when shot in December and January, when it has put on a little fat. It’s easy to tell the difference between the male and female as the male has a green neck, a dark red face with beautiful colours and a long tail, whereas the female is a less flamboyant, but nonetheless beautiful, with a brown colour.

It is possible to tell a pheasant’s age by holding it by the bottom of its beak. If it bends, it is about a year old, and if it holds its own weight, it is an older bird. Grouse is another popular game bird, but it has a brief season and is in short supply in Ireland. The meat of the grouse is the strongest of all of the game birds, so it may not be to everyone’s taste.

For a quick, delicious supper, remove the grouse flesh from the bone (you can ask your butcher to do this), place the skin side on a hot frying pan, add a spoon of honey and crushed pepper. Cook for a minute or so on either side. Sautee some cep mushrooms, and serve with roast potatoes.

On the opposite end of the taste spectrum is partridge. It is one of the best birds to introduce people to game, as it is mild in flavour and the flesh is a lighter colour. There are two types of partridge: the red-legged and the grey. The best one is the grey partridge, as it is smaller, with plumper breasts and a better flavour.

I never use partridge before December, and this is a fitting recipe for the first day of Christmas:

Roast partridge with conference pears, serves four

Partridge
4 grey partridges
4 slices of bacon fat
10ml of olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly milled white pepper
Bunch of thyme
4 shallots
4 garlic cloves
4 conference pears

Pear sauce
3/4 litre of chicken stock
4 conference pears
2 shallots
1/4 litre of pear juice
50ml of Poire William liqueur
2 crushed black peppercorns
25g of unsalted butter

Method

Partridge
1. Remove the wishbone from the partridge and season the bird, inside and out. Peel the shallot and garlic, and place them with the thyme inside the bird. Tie the bacon around the partridge.
2. Heat a pan and add the oil. Sear the bird on all sides.
3. Heat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
4. Wash and slice the pears and arrange in a baking dish, then place the partridge on top. Cook for 8-10 minutes, turning the bird every couple of minutes.
5. Remove the bird from the oven, remove the legs and breast from the bird and leave to rest.
6. Remove the excess fat from the pan and chop the carcass into small pieces. Add to the roasting pan. Deglaze the pan with chicken stock.

Pear sauce
1. Wash, peel and dice the pears and shallots, sautee in a warm pot, add the Poire William, flambe and reduce the amount by two-thirds.
2. Add the crushed peppercorns and pear juice, and reduce the amount by three-quarters.
3. Add the stock, bring to the boil, simmer and skim the top. Reduce the amount by three-quarters, correct the seasoning, then pass the sauce through a fine strainer.
4. Return to the heat, taste and fold in the unsalted butter gradually to thicken the sauce and make it glossy.

To serve, place the partridge on a Warm pan and put in the preheated oven for about four minutes. Place the partridge on the plate, and serve with the sauce.

Kevin Thornton is a Michelin-starred Chef and owner of Thornton’s Restaurant on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin. www.thorntonsrestaurant.com

Tags: , , ,