1242.—GUINEA FOWL, ROASTED. (Fr.—Pintade Rôtie.)
Ingredients.—1 guinea fowl, bacon, fried breadcrumbs, bread sauce, Espagnole sauce, No. 244 (see Sauces), watercress, salad-oil, salt and pepper.
Method.—Truss the bird, cover the breast with slices of fat larding bacon, and roast it in front of a clear fire or in a moderately hot oven for about 1 hour. When ¾ cooked remove the bacon, that the breast may brown. Wash, drain, and dry the watercress, and season it with salt, pepper, and a little salad-oil. Serve on a hot dish, garnish with watercress, and hand the fried breadcrumbs, bread sauce, and Espagnole sauce separately.
Time.—About 1 hour. Average Cost, from 4s. each. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
The Guinea Fowl (Fr. pintade), called also Pintado, is a genus of gallinaceous birds domesticated in England, and belongs to the same family as the pheasants. It is, as its name implies, a native of the West of Africa; it is common in poultry yards, and bears some resemblance to the turkey. Its plumage is slate-coloured, variegated with small white spots. Its head is ornamented with a hard protuberance or "casque." The wattles are prominent, those of the male being of a purplish-red, and those of the female red. Its site is about the same as that of the common fowl, but its legs are longer. The guinea-fowl is gregarious in its habits, associating in large flocks, perching at night in trees of elevated situations. Though domesticated it retains much of its wild nature, and is apt to wander. The hens lay abundantly, and its eggs yellow-red spotted with dark brown, are excellent. Its flesh is not so white as that of the common fowl, and more resembles the flesh of the pheasant in colour. It is savoury and easy of digestion, and the guinea-fowl is in season when game is out.
1243.—LARK PIE. (Fr.—Pâté de Mauviettes.)
Ingredients.—12 larks, 1 lb. of rump steak, ¼ of a lb. of bacon, ½ a pint of good stock. For the farce of stuffing: 2 tablespoonfuls of breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoonful of finely-chopped suet, 1 tablespoonful of finely-chopped ham or parboiled chickens' livers, 1 dessertspoonful of chopped mushrooms (preferably fresh ones), 1 dessertspoonful of finely-chopped parsley, ¼ of a teaspoonful of finely-grated lemon-rind, ¼ of a teaspoonful of powdered mixed herbs, 1 egg, a good pinch of nutmeg, ½ a teaspoonful of salt, ¼ of a teaspoonful of pepper, puff paste, the yolk of 1 egg.
Method.—Bone the larks and stuff them with the farce, cut the beef into small thin slices, and the bacon into strips. Put a layer of beef at the bottom of a pie-dish, arrange the larks on the top, intersperse the remainder of the meat and the strips of bacon, season well with pepper and salt, ¾ fill with stock, and cover with the paste. Brush over with yolk of egg, bake in a quick oven until the paste has risen and become set, then cook more slowly for about 1 hour. Before serving, add the remaining stock, pouring it carefully through the hole in the centre of the pie. Serve either hot or cold, but a little gelatine must be added to the stock if the pie is intended to be eaten cold, in order that the gravy may form a jelly.
Time.—To bake the pie, about 1¼ or 1½ hours. Average Cost, 3s. 6d. to 4s 6d. Sufficient for 6 or 8 persons. Seasonable from November to February.
