Chapter 3: March

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12 roses, preferably red
12 chestnuts
2 tsp. butter
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 drops attar of roses
2 Tbsp. anise
2 Tbsp. honey
2 cloves garlic
6 quail
1 pitaya



Brown the quail in butter and season with salt and pepper.



Remove the petals carefully from the roses. Ground the petals with anise in a mortar. Separately, brown the chestnuts in a pan, remove the peels and cook them in water. Then puree them. Mince the garlic and brown slightly in butter; when it is transparent, add it to the chestnut puree along with the honey, the ground pitaya and the rose petals, and salt to taste.

 



To thicken the sauce slightly, you may add two Tablespoons of cornstarch.



Last, strain through a fine sieve and add no more than 2 drops of attar of roses. As soon as the seasonings have been added, remove sauce from heat. The quail should be immersed in this sauce for 10 minutes to infuse them with the flavor, and then removed.

 

The quail are placed on a platter, the sauce is poured over them and they are garnished with a single perfect rose in the center and rose petals scattered all around.

 

Quail in Rose Petal Sauce