Recipe - Roasted Quail In Pinot Noir Sauce Wwilted Spinach

4 teaspoon Olive oil
1 Onion; quartered and thinly
cut or sliced up
2 teaspoon Sugar
1 cup Dry red wine; preferably
Pinot Noir
1 cup Defatted reducedsodium
chicken broth
3 tablespoon Currants
2 tablespoon Drained capers
2 tablespoon Chopped fresh rosemary or 2
tsp. dried, crushed
4 Quail; about 6 oz. each
Salt & freshly ground black
pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp.
cold water

WILTED SPINACH
1 teaspoon Olive oil
1 One half tablespoon Pine nuts; coarsely chopped
1 pound Spinach; stemmed, washed,
torn, and drained
Salt & freshly ground black
pepper to taste

After lurking about for quite some time, thought I'd contribute this great
recipe that I made for company a few weeks ago. It's rather time consuming,
but well worth the effort. I guess you can substitute Cornish game hens for
heartier appetites, but you'll need to increase the sauce. Enjoy!

Source: Eating Well New Favorites Cookbook

Heat 2 tsp. oil in a large heavy ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add
onions and sugar and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and
continue cooking, stirring often, until the onions are deeply colored and
caramelized, 7 to 10 minutes. Add wine, chicken broth, currants, capers,
and rosemary. Simmer until reduced to 1 One half cups, about 15 minutes.
Transfer the sauce to a small bowl and set aside. Rinse and dry the
skillet. (The sauce can be prepared ahead at this point and refrigerated
for up to 2 days).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. With a sharp knife, split each quail down
one side of the backbone. Turn over and press to flatten. Remove any excess
fat. Lightly season both sides of the birds with salt and pepper.

Heat the remaining 2 tsp. oil in the skillet over high heat. Brown the
quail, breastside down, for 4 minutes. Turn and brown the other side for 4
minutes more. Return the sauce to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Add
the quail, breastside up, and baste with sauce. Transfer the skillet to
the oven and roast for about 15 minutes, or until the thigh juices run
clear when pierced with a knife.

To Make Wilted Spinach: Heat oil in a large skillet over mediumhigh heat.
Add pine nuts and stir until golden, about 1 minute. Add spinach in batches
if necessary, and toss until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with salt
and pepper.

Transfer the quail to a warm platter. Return the skillet to the stovetop
and whisk cornstarch mixture into the sauce. Bring to a simmer, stirring
constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Season with salt and
pepper. To serve, pour the sauce over the quail and surround with Wilted
Spinach.

Serves 4 253 Calories per serving: 20 G Protein; 9 G Fat, 14 G
Carbohydrate; 74 MG Sodium; 1 MG Cholesterol.

Posted to TNT Prodigy's Recipe Exchange Newsletter by Karen & Herb
Finkelman Karen@hkinuk.demon.co.uk on Oct 31, 1997