Name: Fricassée of quail with aubergine and leeks on toasted brioche with escargots in garlic cream and star anise jus
Yield: Serves 8
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: salt and freshly ground black pepper; vegetable oil (canola or sunflower); 4 star anise; 100 g butter; 700 ml quail stock; 1 brioche La Colombe (see BASICS) without parmesan, cut into 8 slices, each 1 cm thick; 4 whole large quails, breasts and legs separated; 16 medium leeks, peeled and washed; 1 large eggplant, cut vertically into thin ovals; 40 medium snails (from a can); 30 g butter; 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic; 250 ml cream; 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley; 1 small carrot, peeled and finely chopped; all quail bones, crushed; 1 celery stalk, washed and finely chopped; 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped; 60 ml balsamic vinegar; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 1,5 litres cold water

Preparation info

Serves
8

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Feast

By Franck Dangereux

Published 2004

About

In my mind I have always associated quails with snails. Perhaps it’s because the words rhyme, but it’s more likely because when I was a child, on the farm where we spent holidays, there was a shrubbery where all the quails used to gather, and for some reason this area was always covered in snails as well. So I picture them together alive, but their flavours also complement each other – the snail is rich and earthy, the quail tender and delicate. I like to call this dish one of La Colombe’s