The best vendor at the Noyers market is a volailler — a poultry merchant. There are always a lot of people standing in line there, waiting to be served, but yesterday it wasn't too crowded. The weather was nippy but sunny, so waiting outdoors was not unpleasant. And all the food in the display cases — all kinds of chicken, duck, and turkey sausages, and pâtés made from rabbit or duck, for example — was, as always, highly appetizing.
But I resisted all that. I was on a mission to bring home a nice farm-raised pintade — a guinea hen — or, at the very least, a plump chicken. I ended up with a 1.8 kg guinea hen, which the man behind the counter prepared for the oven by gutting it, cutting off the head and the feet, and burning off the last of the bird's pinfeathers with a blow torch.
When I got it home, all I had to do was tie the bird up and put it on the spit for roasting in the oven. After brushing it with olive oil, Walt and I sprinkled the pintade with smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. I set a pan of water in the oven under the bird to catch the drippings as it turned on the rotisserie to cook and turn golden brown.
At the market, the poultry man had instructed me to cook the pintade in the oven slowly for 90 to 120 minutes, basting it liberally. « Il faut une cuisson bien arrosée », the man told me with a big smile. « Et il faut en mettre sur la pintade aussi. » I'm not sure I can translate that joke.
It reminds me of a recipe that called for a bottle of wine. Since there was none at any stage of the recipe itself I gathered that the wine was for the cook!
ReplyDeleteSounds to me a touch like the "Galloping Gourmet"... a TV chef when I was young... or better still, Keith Floyd, who seemed to cook with one hand only... the other having possession of a glass of "the old vino".... at least your vendor was remining you that the bird needed a drink too!!
ReplyDeleteI remember Graham Kerr, and Keith Floyd too. I guess the translation would be: "Cook it in a slow oven and baste it liberally, with a lot of wine. And don't forget to put some on the bird, too."
ReplyDeleteBonjour CHM, I bought the ingredients for a tartiflette and am planning to cook it today. I just went looking for a recipe and found this one on the 'net. Another example...
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ReplyDeleteyour bird turned out much better looking than mine.
I must find that spit.
The tartiflette recipe looks really good!
ReplyDeleteH. Peter, I think sprinkling smoked paprika and cayenne pepper over the chicken before baking it gives it flavor and a better color. The rotisserie doesn't hurt.
ReplyDeleteNadège, the tartiflette is in the oven. I think I put on too much cheese -- if such a thing is possible.
Looks crunchy-skinned and succulent :)
ReplyDeleteI doubt if you will have too much cheese. Wish I could taste your tartiflette - I enjoyed looking at that recipe site.
ReplyDeleteIs that an everyday paintbrush for the basting in the picture? Very modern !!
ReplyDeleteI'm getting hungry looking at the picture, Ken. We got pintades at the market twice on our recent trip and roasted them at our gite. While farm chickens and ducks are easy to find here in Maine, pintades are not.
ReplyDelete"too much cheese?" i'm sorry i dont follow... ;-) looks GREAT!
ReplyDeleteWhen you make tartiflette, do you use Roblochon? The bistro Fontaine Sully (on rue Saint Antoine in Paris), made an excellent tartiflette which I had as often as I could get it.
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