Roasted Quail Feast for Valentine's Day

Exotic. Aromatic. Romantic. We prepared this intimate feast with a table for two in mind. Succulent quail are perfectly roasted with our Moroccan blend, Ras El Hanout, hinting at rose petals. The finishing touch, a warm coriander infused honey glaze. Our Wild Rice Pilaf features the bold flavor of cassia cinnamon while Paradise Pistachio Relish combines grains of paradise and Aleppo pepper to bring everything together for a memorable Valentine's Day Feast. We will leave the dessert up to you!

Ingredients

For the Quail Brine:

1/2 gallon water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup kosher salt
2 quarts ice
6 Turkish Bay Leaf
10 whole Long Pepper
3 tablespoons whole Indian Coriander Seed
2 tablespoons whole Jamaican Allspice
2 tablespoons Roses
Peel from one lemon

For Roasting:

4 whole quail
4 tablespoons butter, unsalted
1 tablespoon Ras El Hanout

For the Honey Glaze:

3/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons whole Indian Coriander Seed
Sel de Mer

For the Wild Rice Pilaf:

3 ½ cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup wild rice
1-3" Cassia Stick Cinnamon
2 Turkish Bay Leaf
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons dates, chopped

For the Paradise Pistachio Relish:

1 cup unsalted pistachios, shelled and toasted
3 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Aleppo Pepper
1 teaspoon Grains of Paradise, ground
Salt to taste

Directions

For the Quail Brine: Bring water to a boil in a large stock pot. Once water comes to a rolling boil, remove from heat and add sugar and salt. Stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Then, add enough ice to bring the water volume to one gallon.

Once the brine has cooled, add the rest of the spices, lemon peel, and the raw quail into a container large enough to cover the quail. Refrigerate for at least 2½ hours.For Roasting:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.Next, remove quail from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels. Set aside and allow it to come to room temperature, about 30-40 minutes.While quail is setting, melt butter in a small skillet. Add Ras El Hanout and whisk together before removing from heat. Apply butter mixture liberally to the quail using a spoon or basting brush.

Roast quail, preferably on a grill rack, for 12-17 minutes, the skin will start to brown and crisp.

For the Honey Glaze:

In a small saucepan, heat honey and coriander over medium heat, stirring often. Once honey has reduced by half, about 8 minutes, discard the coriander seeds.With a basting brush, glaze the roasted quail with honey and finish it off with Sel de Mer . Serve warm over rice pilaf, and top it off with pistachio relish. For the Wild Rice Pilaf:In a small saucepan, bring stock to boil. Add the rice, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf. Reduce the heat and simmer until rice kernels open, about 45-50 minutes.While rice cooks, add olive oil to a pan and sauté onion on medium heat until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic to the onions and continue sautéing until garlic is lightly browned.When rice is nearly cooked, add the onion/garlic mixture, and dates. Cover pan until the dates have dehydrated, about 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste.

For the Paradise Pistachio Relish: Use the bottom of a bowl or mortar and pestle to roughly crush pistachios.Combine pistachios, parsley, mint, garlic and lemon zest and juice in a mixing bowl. Slowly add olive oil, mixing as you go, then add Aleppo pepper, grains of paradise and salt.Cover bowl and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.