oe THE FRUGAL GOURMET IN THE ancient world, small birds were considered great delicacies. They were enjoyed in China, and still are; a fried quail] Chinese style is one of the finest bird dishes I know. Canadians do not relish small birds much because we seem to think they are too much work to eat. We want big‘chunks of meat, so we enjoy a chicken or turkey more than a pigeon or squab. But we are missing a great flavor. I hope you will try these dishes; they are some of the finest foods I have ever found. HINT: When cutting poultry with a Chinese cleaver, save your hand by placing a piece of rubber garden hose, cu: along one side, over the top of the cleaver. In this way you can use your hand for pounding on the cleaver without hurting yourself. GAME HENS WITH ROSEMARY AND GARLIC The smell of rosemary and gatlic in the air always makes me think of the back streets of the villages on the edge of Rome. You can have a fine Roman party with this dish. You can even urge your guests to place themselves on their sides on cush- ions and eat with only their fingers, as they did in ancient Rome. Slaves had to eat sitting upright, but free citizens reclined. This would be a great dish for such an eating method. 3 game hens, spiit in half ¥% cup olive oil Thick or inquisitive ANNE GARDINER WILSON Game hens GAME HENS with rosemary and garlic; browned squab with roasted salt and pepper; fried quail, Wednesday, May 6, 1992 - North Shore News - 45 xs . Chinese style; tea-smoked game hen; and reasted quall are among today's recipes. 4 cloves garlic, crushed 3 tablespoons dry sherry 3 dashes Tabasco 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary Juice of 1 lemon Ssit and freshiy ground biack pepper to taste Split each bird in half, using ei- ther a Chinese cleaver or poultry shears. Set aside. Using a very large bowl, mix the remaining ingredients together. Marinate the bird halves in this mixture for | hour, turning often. Broil in an electric oven 7 or 8 minutes on a side, or on a char- coal barbecue. I prefer the char- coal, but be sure the coals are ‘not too hot. Cook to your preference. VARIATION: You can use this same recipe for squab or quail. Just remember to cut down on the cooking time according {to the size of the bird. BROWNED SQUAB WITH ROASTED SALT AND PEPPER (Serves 4 as a part of a Chinese meal) Squab, a fancy name for pigeon, is very popular with the Chinese. The meat is dark and moist and will respond to several methods of cooking. In ancient China these birds were eaten by rich and poor alike. 2 squabs Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste I teaspoon dark soy sauce 3-4 cups peanut oil for deep-frying Cut each squab in half. Rub with the salt, pepper and soy. Deep-fry in the hot oil at 375°F until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Do not overcook. Hack the squab into bite-sized slices and arrange on a_ heated platter. — Serve with Roasted Salt and Pepper (recipe beiow). The pieces of birds are lightly dipped into the salt-and-pepper miixture. ROASTED SALT AND PEPPER Heat a wok and add 3 table- spoons kosher salt, 2 tablespoons freshly ground coarse black pep-~ per and 1 tablespoon Szechwan Peppercorns. ; Heat until the aroma is bright and the salt begins to brown a tiny bit, stirring all the time. Cool and grind in a food blender. Serve with poultry. FRIED QUAIL, CHINESE STYLE (Serves 6-8 as part of a Chinese meal) This is a delicious dish. Since the bird is simmered first in the looing sauce it is very moist, even after a quick deep-frying. 3 cups looing sauce (recipe below) 4 quaiis, split in half 4 cups peanut oil for deep-frying Bring the looing sauce to a boil and put in the quails. Bring back to a simmer and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from the sauce, drain and pat dry with paper towels. Deep-fry in oil at 375°F until golden, about 3 minutes. Do not overcook. LOOING SAUCE 4 cups water 1 cup light soy sauce 1 cup dark soy sauce 1 star anise Y2 cup Chinese rice twine or dry sherry 5 tablespoons sugar 4 slices fresh ginger Mix all together in a stainless- steel pot and bring to a boil. TEA-SMOKED GAME HEN (Serves 3-4 as part of a Sees ’ Chinese meal) 1 1Y:-pound game hen Salt and freshly ground dlack Pepper to taste 2 tablespoons dry Chinese rice wine 2 tablespoons sesame oil 3 tablespoons jasmine tea leaves 4 tablespoons alder or hickory sawdust 6 cups peanut oit for deep-frying Cut the bird in half, using poultry shears or a Chinese cleaver. Rub the halves with the salt and pepper, wine and sesame oil. Allow to marinate for 2 hours. Dip the halves into boiling water for 1 minute. Remove and place on a rack for drying. Smoke the halves in a stove-top smoker for 15 minutes, using the tea leaves and the alder or hickory sawdust. Place the halves on a plate and steam in bamboo steamer for 20 minutes. Allow the pieces to cook, then deep-fry in hot peanut oi! at 378°F until golden brown and crisp, about 4-5 minutes. ROASTED QUAIL APPETIZERS HOMER (Serves 6) In ancient Greece small birds were very popular at a formal feast. Homer, the great poet, was particularly fond of thrushes and he sang an epic poem about them,. called *‘Epikichlides.”’ This recipe is probably as close as we can come to the object of his affection. Y% pound butter 6 quaits 2 slices toasted bread, cut into cubes % pound crumbled feta cheese 4 teaspoon thyme V2 teaspoon oregano Salt and freshly ground blact. pepper to taste 1 clove garlic, crushed Heat the butter in a large fryiny: pan. Roll the birds in the hot but- ter, Butter a baking dish with some of the melted butter and spread the bread cubes in the dish. Scuff the birds with the feta and piace them on top of the bread. Stir the herbs, seasonings and garlic into the remaining butter and baste each bird. sherry or Bake, uncovered, in a preheated oven at 375°F for 40 minutes to 1! hour, depending on your taste. thin, indulge in asparagus this season FAT GREEN spears cooked just until tender, and drib- bled with melted butter — a feast of fresh asparagus. Add only a baguette and a glass of white wine for a superb spring supper. But asparagus season seems to raise two questions —~ one about tenderness and the other regarding post-asparagus odors. imported asparagus is long and slender. Spears of local asparagus tend to be shorter and fatter. But is a thick stalk less tender, as some people claim? Brian McDonald, past president of the British Columbia Aspara- gus Growers’ Association, says the answer is a firm ‘‘no.’? Though the variety is the same, growing conditions and harvesting methods vaake differences in the spears. American asparagus is produced in high-density growing condi- tions, with plants very close together. It’s harvested as early as the year following plantiig. This means there are few fat spears. _ In contrast, some Canadian as- paragus takes as long as five years to reach maximum production, with a season that lasts six to eight weeks. This means underground plants are well established so they pro- duce thick, succulént spears. But those spears are just as tender as the slender ones. Asparagus is expensive to harvest because spears must always be hand-picked as the shoots grow at different rates. American asparagus is usually harvested by cutting the spears below the ground with knives. This leaves a long, white tutt end that’s up to 30% waste. In Canada, asparagus spears are snapped above the ground, giving an all-green spear which needs lit- tle trimming. Though local growers find it hard to compete with the prices of imported products, local aspara- gus is fresher, which means better flavor. It’s often of higher quali- ty, and the long inedible ends aren’t included in the cost. The secret to storing asparagus is high humidity and low temperatures. Covered with a damp towel, fresh asparagus keeps for up to 10 days in the crisper. Then there's the strange business of the disagreeable smell of one’s urine that happens after eating asparagus. Post-asparagus odor is nothing new. There are even records of complaints being voiced in the early 1700s. The culprit has been identified as methyl mercaptan, which has a sulphur component responsible for many disagreeable food smells. But it’s been a puzzle for years as to why some people were “‘stink- ers’’ and others were not. What's responsible, the aspara- gus or the people who eat it? Research shows it’s not the as- paragus. A _ recent large-scale study concludes that about 40% of us have a gene that causes us to produce this byproduct. Another study suggests that all asparagus eaters excrete methyl mercaptan. The ability to detect it, however, differs from person to person. So some of us can smell it and others can’t. Clearly, there’s no definitive answer yet. Whatever the cause, it’s a harmless after-effect. And as this incredible vegetable is at its best right now ... indulge!