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French: Cailles en Sarcophage




Source of Recipe


Gwyneth Doland


Recipe Introduction


Cailles en Sarcophage (Quails in Coffins)



List of Ingredients




2 packages frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tablespoons water
8 quails, boned (except for legs and wings), with bones reserved; ideally, the quails will still have their heads
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons brandy
2 ounces black truffles, minced (or substitute saut�ed mushrooms and a splash of truffle oil)
8 ounces foie gras (or substitute chicken livers)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 shallots, minced
1 cup white wine
4 cups beef stock
2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons white wine
8 large mushroom caps
1 teaspoon peanut oil



Recipe



� Preheat oven to 425 F. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

� Roll pastry out, one package at a time, on a lightly floured board to 1⁄4-inch thickness. Cut out 8 ovals, 4 inches wide and 5 inches long. (You will have extra puff pastry; save it for another use.) Prick the ovals with the tines of a fork. Brush with egg yolk and water mixture.

� Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until nicely browned. Set on a wire rack to cool. When ovals have cooled, use a sharp knife to cut down into the pastry, within a half-inch of the edge, making a well. Do not cut through to the bottom. Lift out the inner layers of pastry and discard, leaving an oval coffin.

� Rinse and dry quails. Sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper. Spread half the minced truffles into the cavities of the quails. Divide foie gras into 8 equal portions, place a portion inside each quail, then close up the quails. Refrigerate birds until ready to cook.

� Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a heavy saucepan. Saut� bones and shallots, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of the brandy and stir to deglaze the pan. Add wine and stock and simmer until the sauce is reduced by half, 30 to 40 minutes.

� Strain the bones out of the sauce and return it to a clean saucepan. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and bring to a simmer, stirring until sauce has thickened. Add the rest of the minced truffles. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside until ready to serve.

� Saut� mushroom caps in 2 tablespoons butter. Set aside.

� About 20 minutes before quails are to be served, preheat oven to 375 F.

� Heat remaining butter with oil in a large heavy skillet. Over medium high heat, brown the birds on all sides. Arrange in baking dish and bake about 10 minutes.

� While quails are baking, deglaze skillet with remaining brandy, about 2 tablespoons, and add this to the sauce.

� Remove quails from oven and cover them to keep warm.

� To serve, reheat sauce. Place pastry ovals on a baking sheet. Place a quail on each oval. Reheat in oven about 5 minutes.

� Transfer quails and pastry to each of 8 plates or to a large serving platter. Spoon a little of the sauce over each quail and top with a mushroom cap. Spoon more of the sauce on each plate or, if using a large serving platter, pass it alongside. Serve at once.


Serves 8