Seared quail with porcini mushrooms

• By Mark Camilleri

Bernard Muscat's wine recommendation: a Pinot Noir would be right – try Cote de Beaune Village (2005) AC by Bouchard Aine & Fils from P Cutajar & Co.

For 6 people, you will need:

Six de-boned quails, two tablespoonfuls of porcini oil, 100g of puy lentils, two tablespoonfuls of olive oil, 50g of pancetta dolce, 80g of dried porcini mushrooms, one clove of garlic clove (finely chopped), three pears, 400ml of red wine, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, three cloves (msiemer tal-qronfol).

Soak the puy lentils overnight; then boil them until they are soft, taking care not to overcook them because they will turn to mash. Soak the dried porcini in hot water for 15 to 20 minutes, then strain off the water and keep it. Peel the pears, cut them in half and put them into a pot with 300ml of wine, sugar and cloves, bringing them to the boil, then turning down the heat and simmering them until they are red and tender. Keep the wine mixture. Carefully lift the pears out of the wine and refrigerate them. Add some of the liquid in which the porcini have been soaked to the wine mixture and bring it back to the boil, allowing it to cook until it has been reduced by half and is a thicker consistency. Strain this and keep it as a sauce for the finished dish. Drizzle the porcini oil over the quails and add salt and pepper. Seal the birds (cook them for a few seconds on each side in a hot pan), and then place them in an oven-dish. Roast them at gas mark 4/180C for 10 minutes. Heat a frying-pan and soften the garlic in olive oil; then add the pancetta and brown it slightly. Add the soaked porcini and cook them until they have darkened. Put in the cooked puy lentils, add the remaining wine and let the alcohol evaporate. Add some of the remaining liquid in which the porcini have been soaked, and cook until all the ingredients have been mixed in together. Taste, and add salt and pepper if required. Prepare the plates by placing a sliced half-pear on a couple of tablespoonfuls of lentils and then a quail on top. Pour on some red wine sauce.