Guinea Hen Crostone with Liver and Pancetta Sauce

Name: Guinea Hen Crostone with Liver and Pancetta Sauce
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients: 4 whole guinea hens (about 3 1/2 pounds each); 4 teaspoons kosher salt, or 1 teaspoon for each pound of guinea thighs; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; All-purpose flour, for dredging; 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the pan; 3/4 pound pancetta, diced; 2 large yellow Spanish onions, diced (3 to 4 cups); 12 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary needles; Freshly ground black pepper; 1 pound guinea hen livers or chicken livers, veins removed and livers roughly chopped (approximately 2 1/2 cups); 1 750-ml. bottle dry white wine; 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons), plus more as needed; 1 tablespoon capers (preferably salt-packed), soaked for 15 minutes if salt-packed, rinsed, and drained; 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar; 5 cups Basic Chicken Stock (page 27), plus more as needed; 4 long 1/2-inch-thick slices from a loaf of pane rustica or another large, flat loaf of rustic white bread, such as ciabatta; or 8 slices from a bâtard or fat baguette, cut on an extreme bias to yield very long slices; 3/4 cup whole fresh Italian parsley leaves; 3/4 cup celery leaves (only the pale green leaves from the heart); Zested strips of 3 lemons; 1 tablespoon finishing-quality extra-virgin olive oil; Maldon sea salt or another flaky sea salt, such as fleur de sel

January 26, 2012

Braised guinea hen served on a big piece of toasted bread and smothered in a rich, gravy-like sauce made of the hens’ livers and pancetta is the house specialty of Ristorante Masolino, my favorite restaurant in Panicale. I felt I would be remiss in not including it on the menu at Mozza, and since we all know how generous and open the Italian people are, I was more than a little surprised when I asked Masolino’s owner, Andrea, for the recipe for this dish, and he refused. Evidently he was not interested in sharing the secrets of his specialty with the world. So I did the only thing I could do. The summer before we opened Mozza I went to the restaurant countless times and each time forced someone in my party to order the guinea hen so I could have a bite and try to figure out how to make it—or how to tell Matt to make it. This recipe requires a lot of preparation, so it’s important to have all of your slicing and dicing done before you start cooking. You can get guinea hen thighs at poultry shops, or order it online from specialty sources such as D’Artagnan. If all you can get are thighs connected to the legs, use the legs to fortify your chicken stock. (Put the chicken stock and guinea legs in a stockpot, bring the stock to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat, and simmer for up to 2 hours, skimming off the foam that rises to the top.) As important as I believe it is for food to look as good as it tastes, I do not delude myself. I know that this dish is not going to win any beauty contests. Rest assured that what it lacks in beauty it makes up for in flavor. I think even Andrea would approve.

Recipe notes