The Best Pintade Recipe

[mint]

Sorry if I have misled you by the title of this thread and you thought I was going to post a Pintade Recipe.  Well, I had to grab your attention somehow, didn't I?

I love pintade but only tend to roast it, not knowing how best to cook it.  So, if you have a pintade recipe, I should love to have it.

BTW, I have never seen pintade eggs being sold.  Has anyone ever eaten any of the eggs?

[val douest]

I have cooked the recipe below several times now and although it looks a bit of a palaver to do it is great dish for entertaining as it can be cooked the day before and just reheated and finished off when you eat.  I have given the recipe exactly as it appears the book, but I have at times varied the herbs, substituted a cheap local fortified wine for the Banyuls and on one occasion forgot to add the lardons (and I don't think they were missed!).  It's a lovely rich full-flavoured dish and goes well with plain rice or creamy mashed potatoes.  I also cook the pintade for slightly longer than the 40 mins given in the recipe (making sure there is plenty of cooking liquid left) as we like it almost falling off the bones.  

Enjoy!

Pintade au Catalan

(from French Leave by John Burton Race)

Serves 8

2 pintade

100 ml olive oil

2 large onions, peeled and chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1 celery stick, trimmed and chopped

1 leek, washed and chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped

2 sprigs each of fresh thyme and oregano

1 bay leaf

1 kg tomatoes, quartered and deseeded (not skinned)

330ml Banyuls wine

750 ml strong chicken stock

200g parma ham, cut into small strips

75g unsalted butter, diced

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.  Cut each pintade into 8 pieces.  In a large frying pan heat the oil and when hot add half the pintade joints, browning them on all sides. Remove to a large lidded casserole and brown the remaining pieces in the same way.

2.  Add the vegetables and garlic to the oil in the pan and fry until golden.  Add the herbs and continue frying, then add the tomatoes and wine.  Boil to reduce the wine, stirring continously, until it has fully evaporated (takes about 15 mins).  Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.

3.  When the tomatoes have turned brownish and become a syrupy pulp then pour in the chicken stock. Bring to the boil and then carefully pour the contents of the frying pan over the pintade in the casserole.  Cover with a lid and place in the preheated oven to cook for about 40 mins.

4.  Next, heat more oil in a frying pan and fry the lardons of parma ham until crisp.  Remove with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper to drain.

5.  Remove the dish from the oven and transfer the pintade to a serving dish with a slotted spoon.  Keep the pintade warm while you finish the sauce.

6.  Pour the sauce remaining in the casserole through a sieve into a saucepan, pushing it through to capture all the flavour from the vegetables.  Bring the sauce to the boil, removing any sediment.  Turn down the heat and add the butter piece by piece, whisking it to dissolve.  Add the lemon juice and then season.  Pour the sauce over the pintade, sprinkle with the lardons, and then serve.

[Clair]

I used this Delia recipe a while back:

Guinea Fowl au Vin

[mint]

Thank you, Val and thank you, Clair.

Yum..............yum, mouth is watering as I write!

[mint]

Clair, I cooked the Delia recipe 2 days ago and it was absolutely delish!

Val, going to do yours next.  Thought, as it's a bit more work, I'd save it till my favourite visitor comes next month so I'd have someone to share it with.

Never thought pintade would taste this good, even better than in restaurants.

[jon]

However....

Guinea fowl

Try roasting the bird and serving a rich chasseure sauce seperatly....red wine,shallots,thyme,a little chunky lardon...maybe a few cepes[can be dried] a little garlic of course and real [yes strong] stock duck...better than chicken[de fatted of course]A few sof pink/gren peppercorns are a good idea.

This way you have the crispness of the roasted bird and you capture the richness of the sauce.

What do I know?Well I am cooking for a living as have for many years.Really enjoying it.

Another dish for guineau fowl which we prepare here is stuffing the breasts with black pudding.

Happy cooking.

[mint]

Ah, thanks, Jon.  Nothing like a tip or two from a professional person.

Do you use the fat and scrapings from the roasting pan in the sauce as well?

[jon]

I use the fat and juices to roast potatos or to make boulangere pots.

It is not a good idea to put fat into the sauce....even though the flavour is great.

 

 

[gosub]

[quote user="sweet 17"]

Yum..............yum, mouth is watering as I write!

[/quote]

A nice French phrase for this, is something like  "j'ai déjà l'eau de la bouche" I am sure I will be corrected if it's not quite right.

[Clair]

... à la bouche

 [:)]

[jon]

My deli was called Fabouche.....in London.

But now I  am here....cooking for more relaxed Londoners!