Roasted Quail Feast for Valentines Day

Ingredients

For the Quail Brine
• 1/2 gallon water
• 2 quarts ice
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 6 Turkish bay leaves
• 10 whole long pepper
• 3 tablespoons whole Indian coriander
• 2 tablespoons whole allspice berries
• 2 tablespoons rose petals
• Peel from one lemon
For Roasting
• 4 Whole quail
• 1 tablespoon Ras el Hanout
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons rose petals
For the Honey Glaze
• 3/4 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons whole Indian coriander
• Sel de Mer

Instructions

For the Brine
1. Bring water to a boil in a large stock pot. Once boiled, remove from heat and add sugar and salt. Stir until sugar and salt have dissolved. and add enough ice to bring water volume to 1 gallon
2. Once the brine has cooled, add quail and spices and refrigerate for 2 1/2 hours.
For the Quail
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
4. Remove quail from brine and pat dry with paper towels Set aside to bring to room temperature, about 30-40 minutes.
5. While quail are setting, melt butter in a small skillet, add Ras el Hanout, whisk and remove from heat. Apply butter mixture liberally to quail.
6. Roast quail, preferably on a grill rack, for 12-17 minutes
For the Glaze
7. In a small saucepan, heat honey and coriander over medium heat, stirring often, until honey is reduced by half, about 8 minutes. Discard coriander seeds.
8. With a pastry brush, glaze the roasted quail with honey and finish with Sel de Mer.
9. Serve with rice pilaf and pistachio relish (recipes below)

Ingredients

• 1 cup wild rice
• 3-3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 4 tablespoons dates, chopped
• 1 3" cassia cinnamon
• 2 Turkish bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan, brink stock to boil. Add rice, cinnamon stick and bay leaf, reduce heat and simmer until rice kernels open, about 45-50 minutes.
2. While rice cooks, saute onion on medium heat until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic to onions and continue sauteing until garlic is lightly browned.
3. When rice is nearly cooked, add onion/garlic mixture, and dates. Cover until the dates have dehydrated, about 10 minutes.
4. Season with salt to taste

Ingredients

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

Instructions

1. Use the bottom of a bowl to roughly crush pistachios.
2. Combine pistachios, parsley, mint, garlic and lemon in a mixing bowl. Slowly add olive oil, mixing as you go, then add Aleppo pepper, grains of paradise and salt.
3. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.