Guinea fowl with pomegranate, croquettes, salad
Hol Dir die Kitchen Stories-App
Ingredients · Servings 4
- 1 Perlhuhn
- 1 pomegranate
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp smoked paprika powder
- 100 ml Marsala
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 200 g Croquettes
- 4 sprigs of parsley
- 2 pinches of herbs de Provence
- 500 ml light beer
- 80 g lamb's lettuce
- 6 leaves of radicchio
- 8 leaves of endive salad
- 80 ml vinegar-oil vinaigrette
Method · 1 h 50 min
- Fresh guinea fowl aren't always available. So, before Christmas, I ordered and bought two from my local organic farm, Arzberger – one for myself and one for my friend, buddy, and neighbor, Sebastian.
- I buy my guinea fowl from where I buy almost all my meat and poultry – at my beloved Arzberger organic farm. If you live anywhere nearby (Straubing/Regensburg), I highly recommend Arzberger organic farm. Superb quality, friendly, kind people who work sustainably and are truly passionate about their farm – I have the utmost respect for them. If they didn't already exist, they would have to be invented. Isn't this type of poultry magnificent? Beautiful to look at and incredibly delicious.
- To ensure the guinea fowl gets a beautiful, crispy brown crust all over, I cut it in half, season the inside with freshly ground salt and pepper, two pinches of herbs de Provence, and place four sprigs of parsley inside. Just look how beautifully dark, especially the breast meat, is, and how deliciously white it becomes after roasting... juicy, not at all dry, and fantastic in flavor.
- Then I turn them over and season the outside with a little salt and pepper and smoked paprika. After that, I put them in the oven with just a little olive oil for about 45 minutes at 200°C.
- Place the guinea fowl halves in a covered oven, coating the bottom only with a little olive oil, and bake at 200°C (390°F) using convection. This is what the guinea fowl will look like after approximately 45 minutes.
- In the meantime, I peel and clean the carrots and onions and dice them into small pieces.
- The Marsala for the sauce comes in a convenient 100 ml cooking quantity.
- The pomegranate is exceptional in its exoticism, its appearance, and especially its taste. With its tart-sweet, even slightly acidic flavor, it gives white meat a special touch.
- Scoop out the pomegranate seeds and set them aside. I haven't bought such a juicy, flavorful pomegranate in ages. And here's the kicker: at the ridiculously low price of €0.99! I think wealthy countries should have established a fund for fair food prices long ago, where anyone willing can contribute to ensure fair prices for agricultural products. Price increases and trade practices simply won't work. Fair domestic and international producers should then benefit from the fund.
- Then I pour 500 ml of light beer over the guinea fowl and add the diced onions and half of the diced carrots. I put the guinea fowl back in the oven, covered, for another 35 minutes. Water or broth will also work, but beer gives it a special flavor.
- After approximately 80 minutes in the oven, covered, I remove the roasting pan with the guinea fowl, take out the meat, and thoroughly blend the liquid with an immersion blender. I then shred the guinea fowl with vegetable shears and return it to the roasting pan. I also add the peeled pomegranate seeds and the remaining diced carrots to the sauce.
- Now I put the roasting pan in the oven for another 20 minutes or so, and the ready-made croquettes next to it. Only 5-10 minutes before the end of cooking, add the Marsala to the guinea fowl sauce and stir. This way, the guinea fowl sauce retains the Marsala flavor and doesn't evaporate.
- A small “winter salad” with finely sliced radicchio, endive and a little lamb's lettuce, as well as a vinegar-oil vinaigrette, goes perfectly with it.
- Once the croquettes are ready after about 20 minutes, you can start plating them. They are pre-made croquettes, but still a nice variety.
- I place the croquettes on top, add the desired piece of guinea fowl, and then ladle over sauce with pomegranate seeds and carrot pieces.
- I wish you a good appetite and a fine glass of red or white wine to go with it.
- There's another way to make delicious guinea fowl. My friend Sebastian does it quite differently: He places a roasting tin filled with vegetables and broth under the guinea fowl, and then puts the guinea fowl, filled with bread dumplings/apples, etc., directly onto the oven rack for all-around grilling (I think he uses convection).
- …the result is impressive after 1 1/2 hours. As I said, there are many roads to Rome… er… to delicious guinea fowl. 🥳
- Guinea fowl, whether with dumplings, croquettes, salad, green beans and vegetables… simply a delicacy..🎄🥳😋😁🥰
Fresh guinea fowl are rare, so you should seize the opportunity. I love the taste of guinea fowl because it has a delicate, subtle gamey flavor, somewhere between pheasant and pigeon. And the really great thing about it is that guinea fowl doesn't dry out quickly like pheasant, it handles high heat well during cooking, and it has wonderfully flavorful white meat. I prepare it simply, without any fuss, similar to a roast chicken, only the sauce with Marsala and pomegranate provides a contrast.
- I buy my guinea fowl from where I buy almost all my meat and poultry – my beloved Arzberger organic farm. If you live anywhere nearby (Straubing/Regensburg), I highly recommend Arzberger organic farm. Superb quality, friendly, kind people who work sustainably and are truly passionate about their farm – I have the utmost respect for them. If they didn't already exist, they would have to be invented. Isn't this type of poultry magnificent? Beautiful to look at and incredibly delicious.
