pancetta – Page 2 – Cook and Drink

Quail with Pruneaux d’Agen, Sage and Olives

18 March 2020

Quail

We love our quails! They have a delicate taste, but they also allow you to add strong flavours like sage, bay leaf or black olives. We prefer small and tasty black olives (in oil) for instance Taggia olives from Italy. Prune-wise Pruneaux d’Agen are ideal, but in general the prune should be moist, sweet and full of flavours.

Wine Pairing

A medium bodied red wine, not too complex, will work very well; for instance a Shiraz. We enjoyed our quail with a glass of Puech d’Hortes from La Colombette made from syrah and grenache grapes. The wine should balance with the sweetness (sage, Pruneaux d’Agen), the nutty character of the pancetta and the bitterness of the olives and the sage.

What You Need

2 Quails
50 grams of Pancetta
Sage (fresh, 6 leaves or so)
6 Pruneaux d’Agen
10 or more Black Olives
Olive oil
Butter

What You Do

Make sure the quail is sufficiently fat, not damaged and not frozen. Clean the inside of the quails with kitchen paper and remove anything that’s left. We prefer it if the head is still attached to the body. This allows you to use the skin of the neck, after having removed the head and the spine. Cut 4 prunes, the pancetta, the sage and the olives in smaller bits and mix together. Now stuff the quail with the mixture and finish with a prune. Use kitchen string to close the quail. Pre-heat your oven to 220° Celsius or 430° Fahrenheit. Put the quails in a skillet with olive oil. Put some butter on top of the quail. Make sure the breast is downward facing. This way the fat will go towards the breast, making sure these are nice and moist. Put in upper half of oven. After 10 minutes turn the quails and label fat over the breast. After another 10 minutes your quails should be ready and golden. This of course depends on your oven. You may want to give the quails a few extra minutes. Remove from the oven, cover the quails with aluminium foil and let them rest for 10 minutes. Remove the kitchen string before serving.

Quail with Pruneaux d’Agen and Bay Leaf © cadwu

Ingredients of Quail with Pruneaux d’Agen, Sage and Olives © cadwu

Quail with Pruneaux d’Agen, Sage and Olives from the oven © cadwu

Salad of Oyster Mushrooms, Pancetta and Chives

20 January 2018

The Challenges of Oyster Mushrooms

Finally! After weeks of patience you’ve just harvested your home grown Oyster Mushrooms. Or for those among us with less patience: you’ve just bought some A+ Oyster Mushrooms.
Let’s discuss some misunderstandings about oyster mushrooms.
First of all, yes, they can be eaten raw (especially the pink and yellow variety), but as always with mushrooms, some people simply don’t agree with them. Cooking is a way of removing the toxic element.
Second aspect, oyster mushrooms do have a taste of their own. It’s delicate and it combines really well with eggs, chives and pancetta, but mind the balance.
And finally, they are (indeed) a bit soggy. So don’t try to fry them and don’t use them in a sauce where you want a certain consistency. Use this aspect of the oyster mushroom, don’t fight it.

This recipe is clearly inspired by the wonderful salade paysanne, which is a combination of ingredients such as mesclun, egg, bacon, potatoes, oil and vinegar. (and never pine nuts, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes and mayonnaise).

Wine Pairing

You can serve the salad as a lunch with a glass of Pinot Grigio or a nice rosé from the Provence region, but why not be a bit bold and serve it with a red wine? Our suggestion would be a Pinot Noir or a Beaujolais Cru (so not nouveau or village).

What You Need

Oyster Mushrooms
Mesclun
Pancetta
Quail Eggs
Olive Oil
Butter
Chives
Black Pepper

What You Do

Tear the oyster mushrooms into smaller bits, following the lamellae. Don’t use a knife. Make sure the mesclun is ready to eat. Cut the pancetta into smaller bits. Don’t use bacon because the saltiness of the bacon will overpower the mushrooms.
In parallel gently fry the oyster mushrooms in olive oil and butter, just to give them warmth and allow for the taste to develop. Remove from the pan and set aside, preferable on a warm plate. In a second skillet fry the pancetta in olive oil. Add olive oil and white wine vinegar to the remaining juices of the oyster mushroom and create a warm vinaigrette. This way you capture the juices and taste of the mushrooms. In a third pan cook the quail eggs until just set. When using fresh chicken eggs cook them until runny or even better, poach the eggs. We prefer using quail eggs given the size of the salad and the more present taste of the quail eggs.
Create the salad by tossing the mesclun, pancetta, chives, black pepper and half of the mushrooms with the vinaigrette. Serve with the other half of the mushrooms on top of the salad, sprinkle some chives on top. Serve with crusted bread.