A Rosy Repast

Natural History, May, 1999 by Robb Walsh

RELATED ARTICLE: Quail in Rose-Petal Sauce

Adapted from Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments, with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies

My local Middle Eastern grocery has plenty of rose water on hand. I ordered the edible roses from Heart of Texas Produce, a specialty food company in Austin. Tita's recipe also calls for pitaya, a delicious type of Stenocereus cactus fruit (see "Prickly Paradox," Natural History, June 1996), but it was out of season, so I substituted a dark red prickly-pear puree. You can also use frozen raspberries.

6 whole quail
3 tablespoons butter
  salt and pepper to taste
1 cup dry sherry
  petals of 6 fresh, organic red roses
6 peeled chestnuts (boiled, roasted, or canned)
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup pitaya or red prickly-pear fruit puree or raspberries
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon ground anise seed
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 2/3 tablespoons rose water

Rinse the quail and pat dry. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter and lightly brown the birds on all sides. Add sherry, salt, and pepper. Lower the heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Turn the quail; cover and cook another 10 minutes. Remove the quail, reserving the pan juices. Rinse the rose petals in cold water. Place half the petals in the blender, adding the remaining ingredients and the pan juices. Puree until smooth. Transfer to a saucepan and simmer 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning with more salt, pepper, and/or honey. Pour sauce over quail and sprinkle with the remaining rose petals.

Culinary adventurer Robb Walsh writes about food for the Austin Chronicle.