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Quail in Rose Petal Sauce
In Laura Esquivel's poignant love tale Like Water for Chocolate Tita is the youngest daughter of Mama Elane, the tyrannical matriarch of the De la Garza Ranch. Tradition holds that Tita must care for her mother and cannot marry. She falls into forbidden love which can only be expressed through her cooking. She uses roses given to her by her beloved to prepare this sensuous and magic Quail dish.
Ingredients
6 Quail, 12 roses, preferably red,12 chestnuts, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 teaspoons butter, 2 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 2 drops attar of roses, 2 tablespoons anise, 1 pitaya
Catch (or shoot) six quail. They should be dry plucked for best flavor. Dress them and tie their feet so they hold a good shape during the browning in butter. Cook the quail for 25 minutes at 400 degrees and then turn them breast side up and cook another 25 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the petals from the roses with care to avoid the thorns. Grind the petals in a mortar with the anise. Brown the chestnuts in a pan, remove the peels, and cook them in water. When cooked, puree the chestnuts. Mince the garlic and brown slightly in butter and when transparent add it to the chestnut puree. Add the honey, ground pitaya, and the ground rose petals and salt to taste. To thicken the sauce slightly you may use cornstarch. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve and add no more than two drops of attar of roses being careful not to overpower. Once all seasoning has been added to the sauce remove it from the heat. Immerse the quail in the sauce for ten minutes to flavor and then remove them. Increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees and roast the quail five to ten minutes more until golden brown.
The Quail are then placed on plates and sauce pored over them. Garnish
the quail with single perfect roses and surround them with rose petals.
Serve with roast potatoes and roast tomatoes. Take care for to some this
dish has aphrodisiac qualities, as it did for Tita's sister Gertrudis who
became so hot that shower water evaporated as steam from her body. Indeed,
the wooden shower walls caught fire from her heat. While this may not be
the case for your lady, the dinner may permit her to forgive your absence
afield in quest of quail.
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If your not into hunting or cannot find quail, Tollers can be used
for fishing. This was our first Toller, Little River Rudra, in action at
Larson Creek in Alaska.
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