Pintade Aux Choux (Braised Guinea hen with Cabbage)

Most of us in America aren't familiar with guinea hens.

They have more flavour than chickens and are probably closer to a game bird. Our local provider of pasture poultry has been offering guinea fowl for the past few years and I havd been loving finding different ways to cook them.

This dish avoids the danger of over-cooking the bird when roasting it which renders the hen tough and close to tasteless.

A delicious country supper.

BRAISED GUINEA HEN WITH CABBAGE

(serves 6 to 8)

1. 2 guinea hens (about 3 pounds each)
2. salt and pepper
3. 1 small head green cabbage (about 3 pounds)
4. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5. 4 thick slices  lean bacon
6. 2 large carots, quartered and cut into sticks
7. 1 cup chicken broth
8. 1/2 cup medium-dry white wine
9. 1 onion, studded with 1 whole clove
10. 1 bouquet garni*
11. 12 to 16 small smoked cocktail sausages**
12. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Wipe the hens inside and out with paper towels, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and truss them.

Cut the cabbage head through the stem end into 12 wedges and core each wedge.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large flameproof casserole over medium heat. Brown the hens very thoroughly on all sides. Remove them, let the pan cool slightly and lay 2 of the bacon slices on the bottom. Add half the cabbage wedges and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put the hens on top, surround them with the carrots,and then cover them with the remaining cabbage. Pour in the broth and wine. Add the onion and bouquet garni, pushing them well down into the cabbage, and top with the remaining bacon slices.

Cover the casserole and braise it in the oven until the hens are tender, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. To test, wiggle the thigh joints; they should move freely. Ten minutes before the end of cooking, add the sausages to the pan pushing them well down into the cabbage so they heat through. Guinea hen with cabbage may be cooked up to 2 days head and kept in the refrigerator.

To finish, if necessary, reheat the hens and cabbage in a 350 degree F. oven, allowing up to an hour for everything to be piping hot, Transfer the hens to a carving board and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. Discard the onion and bouquet garni from the pan. Using a draining spoon, pile the cabbage, carrots and sausages on a warmed large platter, cover, and keep warm Set aside the bacon slices. Put the casserole on the stove top and boil the cooking juices until concentrated to make a jus, 3 to 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Menwhile, cut each hen into 4 pieces. Cut each bacon slice into 2 or 3 pieces and arange them on the cabbage with the hens. Sprinkle with the parsley. Reheat the jus if necessary and strain it into a bowl to serve separately.

*To make a Bouquet Garnie, tie together a spring of fresh thyme, a dried bay leaf and several sprigs of fresh parsley. Leek greens and celery tops may also be included.

**I used some small breakfast sausages that we had in the freezer and cooked them with hens from the beginning of their time in the oven.

(from Anne Willan's The Country Cooking of France)