Pan-Roasted Squab with Salsify

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Title: Pan-Roasted Squab with Salsify
Categories: None
Yield: 4 servings

4 Squab or cornish game hens 1 c Red wine
1 lg Carrot, diced Salt and pepper
2 Ribs celery, diced 1/2 lb Salsify
1 md Onion, diced -(substitute parsnips)
2 qt Chicken stock or 2 tb Lemon juice or white
vinegar
-reduced-salt broth 5 tb Unsalted butter
1/4 ts Dried thyme 1 tb Vegetable oil
3 lg Shallots, diced 3 bn Fresh spinach
1/4 lb Bing cherries, pits removed

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut (or have the butcher cut) legs and breast
meat with wings attached from the carcass of each squab. Cut off wing tips.
Cover breast and leg pieces and refrigerate. Place carcasses and wing tips
in a roasting pan and cook in the oven until well browned.

2. Add diced carrot, celery and onion to the pan and continue to roast
until vegetables are soft. Reserve 3/4 cup of chicken stock and add the
remainder to the pan along with the thyme. Lower heat to 375 degrees and
simmer stock for 2 to 3 hours. Strain through a fine sieve. There should be
about 4 cups of strained stock. If there is more, pour the stock into a
saucepan and boil atop the stove until reduced to 4 cups.

3. In a saucepan, cook shallots in 1 tablespoon butter until softened. Add
cherries and cover with red wine. Raise heat and boil wine until almost
completely evaporated. Add strained squab stock and cook at a brisk simmer
until reduced to sauce consistency, about 2 cups. This will take an hour or
more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

(Recipe may be done ahead to this point. Let sauce cool, cover surface with
plastic wrap and refrigerate. Return squab and sauce to room temperature
before continuing.)

4. Peel salsify, placing peeled stalks in water with 2 tablespoons lemon
juice or white vinegar. Slice salsify crosswise into thin rounds and dry on
paper towels. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large sauce pan. Add salsify
and turn to coat with butter. Add 1/2 cup reserved stock and simmer until
salsify is tender. Keep warm.

5. Return oven to 450 degrees. Place remaining 2 tablespoons butter and 1
tablespoon oil in an oven-proof skillet large enough to hold the squab
pieces in a single layer. (If necessary, use 2 skillets.) Brown pieces on
all sides, then remove breast pieces. Place skillet in the oven and cook
legs for 5 minutes. Add breast meat and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until
medium rare. Remove from oven and let meat rest, loosely covered for about
5 minutes. (If using Cornish game hens, cook until completely done.)

6. Meanwhile, return salsify to the heat. Add spinach and remaining 1/4 cup
stock, cover pan and steam, tossing once or twice, until spinach is
completely wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

7. Make a bed of spinach and salsify in the center of each plate. Pour or
spoon cherry sauce around the spinach bed and arrange 2 squab breasts and 2
legs atop sauce on each plate. Serve with a sangiovese wine such as Atlas
Peak.

Posted By japlady@nwu.edu (Rebecca Radnor) On rec.food.recipes or
rec.food.cooking

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