1109. ORTOLANS IN CASES, WITH MADEIRA SAUCE.

The modern cook · Charles Elmé Francatelli · 1846
Source
The modern cook
Yield
8.0 ortolans
Status
success · extracted 11 days ago
Not a recipe
No
Ingredients (15)
For the farce
For the croûstades
For the sauce
Instructions (16)
  1. Cut four fat livers of fowls, and an equal quantity of fat bacon, into square pieces.
  2. Fry the bacon in a sautapan over a brisk fire.
  3. Add the livers, with a tablespoonful of fine-herbs, and season with pepper, salt, and a little nutmeg.
  4. When all this is fried brown, add to it half a quantity of purée (No. 239).
  5. Pound the whole together in a mortar until well mixed.
  6. Add three yolks of eggs.
  7. Mix the above well together by pounding, and take the farce up into a basin.
  8. Cut eight small oval croûstades of bread just large enough to hold an ortolan each, making a slight incision round the inside of the edge of each croûstade.
  9. Fry them in butter, of a light colour.
  10. Remove the inside crumb.
  11. Line them with a thin coating of the farce.
  12. Place an ortolan in each.
  13. Put them on a baking-sheet with a little oil, and bake them in the oven.
  14. When they are done, glaze and dish them up.
  15. Pour over them some Madeira sauce (No. 8) mixed with a small pat of anchovy-butter, and the juice of half a lemon.
  16. Serve.
Original Text
1109. ORTOLANS IN CASES, WITH MADEIRA SAUCE. THESE very delicious birds are a great rarity in England; they are in season in September, and are to be had only of first-rate poulterers, who mostly import them from Belgium. Cut four fat livers of fowls, and an equal quantity of fat bacon, into square pieces; first fry the bacon in a sautapan over a brisk fire, then add the livers, with a table-spoonful of fine-herbs, and season with pepper, salt, and a little nutmeg; when all this is fried brown, add to it half a quantity of purée (No. 239), and pound the whole together in a mortar until well mixed; add three yolks of eggs, then mix the above well together by pounding, and take the farce up into a basin. Next, cut eight small oval croûstades of bread just large enough to hold an ortolan each, making a slight incision round the inside of the edge of each croûstade, and fry them in butter, of a light colour; remove the inside crumb, line them with a thin coating of the farce, place an ortolan in each, then put them on a baking-sheet with a little oil, and bake them in the oven. When they are done, glaze and dish them up, pour over them some Madeira sauce (No. 8) mixed with a small pat of anchovy-butter, and the juice of half a lemon, then serve.
Notes
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