Perdius amb Farcellets de Col

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy casserole with lid, 28 to 30cm
• •Large pot for blanching cabbage
• •Poultry shears or a sharp boning knife
• •Kitchen scale
• •Mortar and pestle or small food processor
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the birds

   Ask the butcher to halve two partridges lengthwise and debone the third, keeping about 200g of its meat for the farcellets. Reserve the carcass for stock and keep two livers for the picada. Pat the four partridge halves dry and refrigerate them while you make the parcels.

2. 2

   Blanch the cabbage

   Bring 2 litres of water and 15g salt to a boil. Lower in the cabbage leaves and blanch for 2 minutes, just until pliable without losing their green colour. Transfer them to cold water, drain, and pat them completely dry. Trim the thick central ribs level with the leaves so the parcels will fold without splitting.

   Keep the two spare leaves. A cabbage leaf tearing at the wrong moment is not a tragedy, but it is inconvenient.
3. 3

   Mix the filling

   Chop the deboned partridge meat finely by hand, or pulse it briefly in a processor without turning it into paste. Mix it with the pork belly, breadcrumbs, milk, egg yolk, 6g parsley, 3g salt, and 0.5g pepper. Knead for one minute, until the mixture begins to hold together, then chill it for 15 minutes.

4. 4

   Wrap the farcellets

   Lay eight cabbage leaves flat. Divide the filling into eight portions of about 44g each. Pésalo, no lo adivines, weigh it, don't guess, because equal parcels finish together. Place one portion near the base of each leaf, fold in the sides, and roll tightly into a small bundle. Set each farcellet seam-side down.

5. 5

   Brown parcels and bread

   Put the flour in a shallow dish. Coat the farcellets lightly and shake off every loose patch. Heat 45ml olive oil in a wide, heavy casserole over medium heat and brown the parcels seam-side down first, then on the other sides, about 6 minutes altogether. They need colour, not cooking through. Remove them carefully. Fry the country bread in the same oil until golden on both sides, then reserve it for the picada. Discard the flour left after coating.

6. 6

   Brown the partridge

   Season the partridge halves with 7g salt and the remaining 1.5g pepper. Add the lard and 20ml olive oil to the casserole. Brown the birds skin-side down for 4 minutes, then for 2 minutes on the bone side. Remove them. Brown the livers for about 1 minute per side and set them with the fried bread; they will finish cooking in the sauce.

7. 7

   Cook the sofregit

   Lower the heat and add the remaining 25ml olive oil, the onion, and the carrot. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring often, until dark gold, soft, and almost jammy. Add two-thirds of the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the crushed tomato and the remaining 2g salt, then cook for another 18 to 20 minutes, until the mixture is dark, sweet-smelling, and leaves no watery trail when you draw the spoon through it. This slow sofregit, the onion and tomato base, decides the sauce. Rush it and the wine stays sharp and the whole dish tastes thin.

   If the browned juices threaten to catch before the onion softens, add one tablespoon of water and scrape them loose. Those dark juices belong in the sauce, not burnt onto the casserole.
8. 8

   Begin the braise

   Pour in the vi ranci and scrape the bottom clean. Let it bubble for 4 to 5 minutes, until reduced by about half. Return the partridge halves skin-side up and add 400ml stock, the bay leaf, and the thyme. The liquid should reach roughly halfway up the birds. Bring it only to a bare simmer, cover, and cook gently for 30 minutes.

9. 9

   Pound the picada

   While the birds braise, pound the toasted almonds, fried bread, browned livers, remaining garlic, and remaining 6g parsley in a mortar. Work in about 80ml of the reserved stock until you have a thick, fairly smooth paste. This is the picada, the Catalan nut, bread, and liver mixture that binds the cooking juices into sauce.

10. 10

    Finish together

    Nestle the farcellets around the partridge, seam-side down. Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Loosen the picada with a ladleful of sauce, stir it into the spaces between the parcels, and shake the casserole by its handles to distribute it without tearing the leaves. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes more. The sauce should coat a spoon but still flow. Add some of the final 20ml stock if it becomes too thick. Check that the partridge is tender at the thigh and that both the bird and the centre of a farcellet reach 74°C.

    If the parcels reach 74°C before a mature bird becomes tender, lift them out, cover them, and continue braising the partridge. Return them for the final five minutes.
11. 11

    Rest and serve

    Remove the bay and thyme. Take the casserole off the heat and let everything rest for 10 minutes so the sauce settles around the meat. Give each person one partridge half and two farcellets, with plenty of sauce and country bread alongside. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.

Chef Tips

• •Buy young partridges of roughly equal weight, fresh in the game season or properly frozen and thawed overnight in the refrigerator. An older wild bird has deeper flavour but may need another 20 to 40 minutes before the thigh becomes tender.
• •No partridge where you are? Use six large quail, four kept whole for braising and two deboned for the filling. Add the farcellets when the quail enter the sauce and cook both for 30 to 35 minutes; quail are smaller and won't tolerate the full partridge timing.
• •Savoy cabbage, or col verda, folds without fighting you. Ordinary firm green cabbage works, but blanch it for 3 minutes and shave the central ribs thinner; the bundles will be firmer.
• •Vi ranci gives the sauce its dry, nutty depth. Dry oloroso is the sensible Spanish substitute and makes a slightly richer sauce. Plain dry white wine works only at a pinch, and the result loses that aged, oxidative note.
• •Use preserved summer tomato for the sofregit. This is a cool-weather dish, and a pale winter tomato contributes little beyond water. A good whole canned tomato, drained and crushed, is the honest choice.
• •Serve it with country bread and a restrained Catalan red based on Garnatxa or Samsó. The sauce has already done the work; it needs bread, not decoration.

Advance Preparation

• •Ask the butcher to halve two partridges and debone the third. The reserved carcass can be browned and simmered with onion and water the day before to make the stock.
• •The farcellets can be assembled up to 24 hours ahead. Refrigerate them covered and brown them just before building the braise.
• •The finished dish is excellent made one day ahead. Cool it within 2 hours, cover, and refrigerate. Reheat very gently with a splash of water until the meat and parcel centres reach 74°C; a hard boil can split the cabbage leaves.
• •Leftovers keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Freeze them for up to 2 months with the partridge and farcellets completely covered by sauce.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 520g)