Cailles glacées Carmen

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide lidded sauté pan
• •Shallow metal freezer tray
• •Fine sieve and cheesecloth
• •Four 6-ounce (180 ml) ramekins or oval moulds
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Low oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Freeze the granité

   Stir the sugar and ½ cup (120 ml) water over medium heat just until the liquid turns clear. Remove it immediately and cool completely. Stir in the pomegranate and lemon juices, strain into a shallow metal tray, and freeze on a level shelf without touching it for at least 5 hours. Do not stir the syrup as it freezes. Stirring produces small, heavy crystals, while Cailles glacées Carmen needs a light grain that can be piled into a rock. If you stir it by habit, let it freeze firm again and scrape only at serving time.

   The unfrozen mixture should taste slightly sweeter than you want at the table. Cold quiets sweetness, and the finished granité must still answer the savory quail.
2. 2

   Brown the quails

   Season the quails inside and out with 1 teaspoon of the salt and all the white pepper, then leave them for 20 minutes. Pat every surface dry. Melt the butter in a wide lidded sauté pan over medium-high heat, and when its foam subsides, brown the quails on the breast, back, and both sides until their skin is a confident bronze. Work in two batches if the pan is crowded. Pale birds give nothing to the aspic beneath its gloss.

3. 3

   Poach them gently

   Lower the heat and soften the shallot in the same pan without browning it. Add the wine and scrape up the fond, then reduce the wine by half. Pour in the poultry stock, add the thyme and bay leaf, and bring the liquor to the barest tremble. Return the quails, cover, and poach gently for 10 to 14 minutes, turning once, until the thickest part of a thigh reaches 165°F (74°C). If the liquor begins boiling hard, pull the pan from the heat and add a spoonful of cold water before continuing. A boil tightens these little birds very quickly.

4. 4

   Build the aspic

   Lift the quails onto a tray. Strain the cooking liquor through a fine sieve lined with damp cheesecloth, without pressing the shallot, then skim away every trace of surface fat. Boil the liquor until 1¾ cups (420 ml) remain. Meanwhile, bloom 1 tablespoon (10 g) gelatin in 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of the cold water for 5 minutes. Take the liquor from the heat, dissolve the bloomed gelatin in it, and season with the remaining salt. Chill a teaspoonful on a saucer for 5 minutes: it should tremble but hold its shape. If it remains loose, bloom the reserved teaspoon of gelatin in the remaining tablespoon of water and dissolve it into the warm liquor. If it sets rubbery, warm it gently and add 2 tablespoons of water. Ça se rattrape.

5. 5

   Mould each quail

   While the birds remain barely warm, lift off each breast and leg, keeping the pieces as neat as possible, then strip the remaining meat from the carcasses and check carefully for small bones. Chill four 6-ounce (180 ml) ramekins. Spoon a thin layer of aspic into each and refrigerate until set. Arrange one quail's breast meat smooth-side down in each mould, place the leg meat around it, and pack the smaller pieces into the centre. Cool the remaining aspic over ice until slightly syrupy, then spoon it into every gap and cover the meat completely. Tap each mould once against a folded towel to release trapped air. If the aspic sets in the bowl, warm it gently until fluid again.

6. 6

   Set both elements

   Refrigerate the quail moulds uncovered until thoroughly cold, then cover and chill for at least 4 hours. Leave the granité entirely undisturbed until it is frozen firm, then cover its tray without scraping the surface. The brigade's separate aspic stockpot and extra pair of hands are gone, but the moulding and quiet freezing stay. Those are the dish.

7. 7

   Turn out and serve

   Chill a low oval platter for 30 minutes. Dip each mould in warm water for 3 to 5 seconds, invert it onto the platter, and arrange the four glazed quails evenly around the centre. If one clings, warm the mould for another 2 seconds rather than forcing it with a knife. At the last possible moment, rake the frozen pomegranate mixture into loose crystals with a sturdy fork and pile them high in the centre as an angular rock. Do not press them into a smooth mound. Carry the platter straight to the table; outdoors, set it over a larger tray of ice if it must wait. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Fresh pomegranates are splendid when they are heavy with juice, but this dish needs good fruit more than it needs a performance at the cutting board. Outside their season, use unsweetened bottled pomegranate juice with no added flavoring or syrup.
• •Choose a clear, lightly seasoned poultry stock. A dark roasted stock muddies the aspic, while a salty commercial broth becomes harsh as it reduces. Technique first, always.
• •Straight-sided 6-ounce ramekins make excellent home moulds. The thin first layer of aspic creates the glaze, and cooling the remaining aspic until syrupy keeps the quail pieces from floating out of place.
• •A dry rosé Champagne or a firm Brut Crémant suits the cold quail and tart fruit. Keep the bottle properly chilled, and let the platter provide all the ceremony it needs.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the granité base up to 3 days ahead. Freeze it undisturbed and cover the tray only after the mixture is firm; do not scrape it until the platter is ready.
• •The quail moulds can be completed a day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Unmould them no more than 30 minutes before serving so the aspic retains its clean gloss.
• •For outdoor dining, transport the moulds and frozen granité separately in a well-packed cooler at 40°F (4°C) or colder. Assemble the platter at the table and return leftovers to the cold promptly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 380g)