The cartoccio technique, baking food in a wrapper, is generally employed with fish or pasta, with the wrapper being opened at table to the delight of the diners. However, it's also a good way to keep delicate meats from over browning in the oven, and that is what it does here. This recipe is Umbrian, and will serve 6; you could also use gunea hen or chicken.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
- ** For the Bird **
- A pheasant, cleaned, plucked, and ready to cook (about 2 1/2 pounds, 1.2 k)
- 1/3 cup (65 g) unsalted butter
- 3 ounces (85 g) diced prosciutto (use pancetta if need be)
- Several fresh sage leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
- A sheet of oven parchment, wet and wrung dry
- Butcher's twine
- Olive oil** For the Sauce **
- 1 tablespoon pickled capers, rinsed well
- 4 canned anchovy fillets
- The juice of a lemon
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 400 F (200 C).
Rub the bird inside and out with the butter, and season it with salt and pepper. Put the diced prosciutto and the sage in the cavity. Wrap the bird in the parchment and tie it tightly with the twine to keep everything together. Lightly oil the paper, and roast the bird in the oven for about an hour, or until the juices run clear if you insert a skewer into the leg joint.
Cooked this way, the skin will not brown. If you would rather it brown and have that nice crunchy feel, after 50 minutes remove the bird from the oven, remove the parchment, and return the bird to the oven to brown.
When the bird is cooked, cut it into pieces, put the pieces on a warmed platter, and keep them warm. Bleand the brosciutto and the sage leaves with the remaining ingredients of the sauce, spoon the sauce over the meat, and serve at once.
The wine? Red, and Torgiano, a classic Umbrian red, might be nice.
Rub the bird inside and out with the butter, and season it with salt and pepper. Put the diced prosciutto and the sage in the cavity. Wrap the bird in the parchment and tie it tightly with the twine to keep everything together. Lightly oil the paper, and roast the bird in the oven for about an hour, or until the juices run clear if you insert a skewer into the leg joint.
Cooked this way, the skin will not brown. If you would rather it brown and have that nice crunchy feel, after 50 minutes remove the bird from the oven, remove the parchment, and return the bird to the oven to brown.
When the bird is cooked, cut it into pieces, put the pieces on a warmed platter, and keep them warm. Bleand the brosciutto and the sage leaves with the remaining ingredients of the sauce, spoon the sauce over the meat, and serve at once.
The wine? Red, and Torgiano, a classic Umbrian red, might be nice.
