Blood Orange Roasted Quail with Grilled Apple Tart, Frisee and Blood Orange Marmalade
Serves 8
10 blood oranges
8 semi boneless quail
2 sprigs of basil
2 ounces fresh ginger
3 tablespoons molasses
1-1/2 pounds sugar
4 ounces goat cheese
1 sheet puff pastry
1 egg
½ cup milk
4 gala apples (peeled, cored and cut into quarters)
½ cup brown sugar
2 bunches frisee (washed and held in an ice bath)
1 ounce good olive oil
2 ounces canola oil
Sea salt and pepper
Blood Orange Marmalade
Weigh out 1 pound of oranges. Bring a pan of water to a simmer. Wash oranges well and place in simmering water; cook for 10 minutes. Remove from water and cool. When cool, cut oranges in half and squeeze juice and pulp into cheesecloth and tie it up like a bouquet garni. Julienne the rind and place in a non-reactive pan. Add sugar, 4 cups of water and orange “bouquet garni” to pot and simmer until it becomes thick.
Tarts
Using a 4-inch biscuit cutter, cut 16 circles out of the puff pastry sheet. Use a smaller size to cut out the middle of 8 of the 16 rounds. Whisk together milk and eggs to make an egg wash. Brush the bottom disks with egg wash and lay the rings on top. Prick dough with a fork and place back in the refrigerator to set up. When chilled, cook at 375F until golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. This step can be done ahead.
Grilled Apples
Toss the apples in brown sugar and let macerate for a couple of minutes and then place on a grill or in a grill pan and brown off on all sides. Set aside; when cool, dice them up. Can be done ahead.
For the tarts
Place 1 ounce of goat cheese in the bottom of puff pastry and then top with grilled diced apple and set on a sheet pan so you can pop in oven.
For the Quail
Take the remaining oranges and zest them in a bowl. Squeeze the oranges for the juice and place it in bowl. Remove any seeds and add molasses, basil and ginger and mix together.
Rinse quail and place them in marinade for a couple of hours. Remove from marinade and season with salt and pepper.
Heat canola oil in a sauté pan. Add quail and sear them breast side down until golden brown and cooked through.
To Serve
Arrange puff pastry discs on a cookie sheet. Place 1 ounce of goat cheese in the bottom of puff pastry and top with grilled diced apple. Place in 350F oven until pastry is warm and cheese is heated.
While pastry is warming, toss the frisee with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. When tarts are done, place one tart in the middle of each plate. Place a little frisee next to the tart. Cut each quail in half, and arrange on plate around tart. Drizzle plate with orange marmalade and olive oil.