CookEat Recipe
Thrushes Braised with Olives
Small game birds braised with sage and prosciutto, with brined olives added during cooking and lemon-scented juices soaked into toast.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 6 thrushes, legally supplied for human consumption and professionally cleaned, plucked and eviscerated; 30 g thinly sliced prosciutto with both fat and lean; 6 whole sage leaves; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 15 g butter; About 200 ml poultry stock, added as needed; 80 g brined olives, drained and pitted; Juice of 1 lemon; 6 small slices of bread; A little salt and black pepper.
Step 2
Use only birds legally supplied for food, with heads, feet and viscera already removed. Put the prosciutto slices in a heavy pan, set the birds above them with the whole sage leaves, and add the oil, very little salt and some pepper. Brown gently on all sides, about 10 minutes.
Step 3
Add the butter and enough stock for a shallow braise. Cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes, turning the birds occasionally. Add the drained pitted olives halfway through the braise, then continue for about 20–35 minutes until each whole bird reaches 82°C and is tender. Add small amounts of stock if the pan becomes dry.
Step 4
Shortly before serving, squeeze the lemon juice into the hot pan. Lightly toast the bread, set the birds on the toast and spoon the olives and concentrated pan juices over and around them. Serve promptly and take care with the many small bones.
Step 5
Other small edible game birds can be cooked by the same method where legally available, but their size may change the cooking time; check 82°C for whole birds. The brined olives are pitted before cooking rather than served with hidden stones.
Cooked it? Rate it.
Cooked 0 times