Cailles glacées Reine Amelie

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Blender or food mill
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Shallow metal freezer tray
• •Small roasting pan
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Wire rack and sheet tray
• •Pastry brush
• •Large chilled oval platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Season the tomato

   Purée the tomatoes until completely fluid, then pass them through a fine sieve, pressing firmly to extract about 3 cups (710 ml / 710 g) of smooth juice. Stir in the lemon juice, sugar, 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.5 g) of the white pepper. Chill a spoonful over ice and taste it cold. It should seem bright and slightly more seasoned than ordinary tomato juice, because freezing will mute it. If the cold spoonful tastes flat, correct the base now; once frozen, scattered salt cannot dissolve evenly.

2. 2

   Rake the granité

   Pour the seasoned tomato juice into a shallow metal tray, making a layer no deeper than 1/2 inch (1.25 cm). Freeze for 45 minutes, then draw a sturdy fork through the frozen edges and mix them into the softer centre. Repeat every 30 minutes until the granité forms loose, distinct crimson crystals, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours altogether. If it freezes into a solid slab, don't attack it with a knife. Ça se rattrape: leave it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, then scrape firmly with the fork and return the crystals to the freezer.

3. 3

   Roast the quails

   Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Pat the quails completely dry, fold the wing tips beneath them, and tie the legs together if they sit untidily. Season the cavities and skins with the remaining 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) salt and 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.5 g) white pepper, then brush them all over with the melted butter. Set them breast-side up in a small roasting pan and roast for 12 to 15 minutes, basting once, until deeply bronzed and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest thigh without touching bone registers 165°F (74°C). If the breasts color too quickly, shield them loosely with foil while the thighs finish.

4. 4

   Make the pan gelée

   Transfer the quails to a wire rack and let them cool for 20 minutes, then refrigerate them uncovered until thoroughly cold. Meanwhile, set the roasting pan over medium heat, add the chicken stock, and scrape every browned morsel of fond from the pan floor. Simmer until reduced by half to about 1/2 cup (120 ml / 120 g), then strain and skim away the surface fat. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and leave it for 5 minutes, then whisk it into the hot reduction. This is the gelée, a savoury jelly glaze. Taste and season while it is still fluid, remembering again that cold softens salt.

5. 5

   Glaze the quails

   Cool the gelée over a bowl of ice until it becomes lightly syrupy but has not set. Place the cold quails on their rack over a tray and brush each with a very thin, even coat. Refrigerate for 8 to 10 minutes, then repeat twice, letting every layer set before adding the next. Thick gelée looks rubbery, so patience, not quantity. If it runs straight off, either the birds are not cold enough or the gelée is too warm; chill both briefly. If it sets in the bowl, warm it gently over hot water until fluid again. Ça se rattrape.

6. 6

   Build the cold platter

   Chill a large oval platter and a serving spoon. Rake the granité once more, then pile it into an irregular rock at the centre of the platter, working quickly so the crystals remain distinct. Arrange the four glazed quails breast-side up in a close ring around it. Bring the platter straight to the table; for an outdoor meal, nest it over a larger tray of ice and keep it out of direct sun. The gelée should gleam, the tomato should remain crystalline, and the first spoonful should taste more savoury than sweet. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy quails as close in size as possible so they roast together. Frozen birds are perfectly serviceable when thawed slowly in the refrigerator and dried thoroughly; wet skin will never bronze properly.
• •In the full tomato season, use fruit that smells ripe before you cut it. At any other time, good bottled tomato juice or canned whole tomatoes passed through a sieve are the honest answer. A preserved tomato picked ripe beats a fresh one that tastes of damp cardboard.
• •Use unsalted stock. Reducing a salted carton by half can leave the gelée harsh, and there is no elegant rescue for too much salt except making more unsalted reduction and combining the two.
• •The glaze must be thin enough to flatter the birds, not imprison them. Three light coats give a clear gloss and a tender set; one heavy coat gives you poultry in a raincoat.
• •For outdoor service, keep the finished platter below 40°F (4°C) until the guests are seated. Nest it over ice in hot weather and return any remaining quail to the refrigerator within one hour.

Advance Preparation

• •The tomato base can be puréed, strained, and seasoned one day ahead. Keep it covered and cold, then freeze and rake it on the day of serving.
• •The granité can be completed one day ahead and kept covered in the freezer. Let it soften in the refrigerator for 10 minutes and rake it back into loose crystals before assembling the platter.
• •The quails can be roasted and glazed one day ahead. Refrigerate them on a tray until the last layer has set, then cover without pressing wrapping against the gelée.
• •Chill the serving platter for at least one hour. Assemble only when the table is ready, because the melting granité cannot be put back together politely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 320g)