I had the pleasure of eating this delicious duo of guineafowl at the book launch of 32 Inspirational Chefs and it stole my heart. Here’s the recipe by Floris Smith, who is the executive chef at Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Wellness Retreat in the Cederberg.
Duo of guineafowl
Serves 4
Featuring confit guinea fowl legs and juicy guinea fowl breast. Make the sauce and prepare breast parcels ready for cooking a day in advance and you will find this an easy dish to assemble and serve at the last minute.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 3 hours
Special equipment: Chinoise, acetate sheets, offset spatula.
Planning ahead: The tomato leather, sauce and breast parcels needs to be prepared 1 day in advance.
Ingredients
tomato leather:
- 10 roma tomatoes
- 15ml light brown sugar
- 5ml Maldon salt
- 5ml red wine vinegar
guinea fowl:
- 2 whole guinea fowl
- few thyme sprigs
- 1 bay leaf
- 2ml rock salt
- 2ml black pepper
- 300ml goose or duck fat, melted
- 4 slices Parma ham
ricotta filling:
- 10ml olive oil
- 10ml butter
- 1 small onion, brunoise
- 1 sprig thyme
- 150ml dry white wine
- 1ml fresh grated ginger
- ½ garlic clove
- 200g ricotta
date sauce:
- 125g pitted dates, chopped
- 450ml fowl stock
- 80ml medium cream sherry
- 25g chilled butter, diced
- salt and pepper
creamed mushrooms:
- 200ml dry white wine
- 1 small onion, brunoise
- ½ clove garlic, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, bruniose
- 1 sprig thyme
- 8 white peppercorns
- 300ml double cream
- 200g fresh ceps, cleaned and chopped
- 25ml butter
to serve:
- 10ml olive oil
- butter
- 100g baby spinach, wilted
Method
Tomato leather:
This will have to be made the day before. Core and quarter the tomatoes. In a large saucepan, cook the tomatoes over a low heat for 2-3 hours or until almost all the moisture has evaporated. Remove from the heat. Pass through a chinoise. Combine 180g tomato reduction, sugar, salt and vinegar and blend on high speed until smooth. Pass through a chinoise. Lightly spray acetate sheets with spray and cook. Using an offset spatula, spread the tomato purée into an even layer on acetate sheets. Transfer the sheets to baking trays and dehydrate at 40°C for 8 hours or until very leathery. Remove the tomato leather from the acetate. Cut into 7 x 7cm squares and store in an air-tight container.
Guinea fowl:
Remove the drumsticks and set aside for the confit. The thighs can be stored for future use. Take the breast off the bone, remove the skin and wrap in cling film until and the ricotta filling is made. To confit the guinea fowl drumsticks, put them into a small saucepan with the thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Cover with the melted duck fat and put some wet greaseproof paper on top. Heat the fat to a slow simmer and let the guinea fowl cook very gently for about 1 hour until the meat is tender, then take off the heat.
Ricotta filling:
In a small saucepan heat the oil and butter. Sauté the onions and thyme together until lightly caramelised. Add the wine, ginger and garlic and reduce until dry. Take the pan off the heat to cool to room temperature. Make sure all the excess water is drained from the ricotta. Mix in the caramelised onion mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Roll into cylinder shapes of 10mm in diameter. Cut into 70mm lengths and wrap in the tomato leather squares. Season the guinea fowl breasts and wrap them around the ricotta cigars. Put each parcel at the end of a Parma ham slice and roll up. Wrap in cling film until ready to cook.
Date sauce:
Put the dates in a small saucepan and add just enough stock to cover. Bring to the boil and cook for about 10-12 minutes until the dates are soft and pulpy. While the stock is hot, transfer to a small food processor and blend to a fine purée. In another saucepan reduce the sherry to half the volume and then add the remainder of the fowl stock. Reduce to half the volume. Add the date purée. Whisk in the butter, a few knobs at a time. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside until ready to serve.
Creamed mushrooms:
In a small saucepan bring the white wine, onions, garlic, celery, thyme and peppercorns to the boil. Turn the heat down and reduce the wine slowly until the pan is dry. Add the cream and heat to scalding point. Set aside to infuse. When cooled, strain through a chinoise and put in the fridge until ready for use.
To serve:
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Heat an ovenproof sauté pan and add the oil. Unwrap two of the breast parcels and place in the pan. Sear for 1½ minutes on each side until the Parma ham is brown all over, then transfer to the oven to roast for 5-7 minutes until the breast is cooked medium rare. Set aside to rest for a few minutes. Heat a frying pan until hot. Remove the drumsticks from the fat and add to the pan. Season and add some butter, cook for 2-3 minutes basting with the butter. To cook the mushrooms, melt the 25ml butter in a sauté pan until it begins to foam. Add the mushrooms with some seasoning and sauté for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Stir in the infused cream. Heat the sauce.
On four plates, dish the mushrooms in the middle of the plate with the spinach. Top with the drumsticks. Trim the ends of the breast parcels, then cut in half. Arrange these on the plate, sauce and serve immediately.
Pic courtesy of Relais and Chateaux.
Click here for a review of 32 Inspirational Chefs.
