SQUAB VADOUVAN PASTILLA
DANIEL IS a French restaurant, but our flavor palette knows no geographic boundaries. This started as a summer dish, a roasted bird infused with vadouvan, set on a warm and cold salad. Vadouvan is a fragrant, mild, sweet, and smoky curry blend with fenugreek, fried onions, shallots, garlic, and cardamom. I love the peppery and crunchy qualities of the French breakfast and red radishes—some left raw, some cooked—and the cooling taste of the avocado next to the warm squab. To increase its tenderness, the breast is marinated overnight in yogurt, crème fraîche, and vadouvan, then broiled. The leg is stuffed with ground breast meat, liver, heart, and a bit of foie gras, then wrapped with brik dough to create our version of a crispy pastilla.
Ingredients
Vadouvan-Marinated Squab Breasts
Squab Leg Pastilla
Vadouvan Jus
Avocado Chutney
Glazed Radishes
To Finish
Instructions
For the Vadouvan-Marinated Squab Breasts
  1. Extract the hearts and livers from the squab cavities. Carve the breasts and legs from the squabs. Pull the tenderloins from the breasts and reserve, chilled, with the hearts, livers, and legs for the pastilla. Chop the wings and bones into 1-inch pieces, rinse with cold water, pat dry, and reserve, chilled, for the jus.
  2. In a small saucepan, combine the yogurt, cream, and vadouvan spice and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, cover, and infuse for 5 minutes. Pour through a fine-meshed sieve and chill. Stir in the crème fraîche and season with salt and pepper. Transfer half of the sauce to a resealable bag and add the squab breasts, turning them to coat. Marinate, refrigerated, overnight. Reserve the remaining sauce for finishing, chilled.
For the Squab Leg Pastilla
  1. Carve the thigh bones from the legs, being sure not to puncture the skin; reserve the bones for the jus. Leave the remaining bones and feet attached.
  2. Finely chop the tenderloins, hearts, and livers and transfer them to a medium bowl. Add the foie gras, vadouvan, salt, and pepper and mix well.
  3. Cut the brik dough into 4 isosceles triangles with a 4-inch-wide base and a 3-inch height. Keep the sheets covered with plastic wrap while working.
  4. Assemble the pastillas one at a time by laying a dough triangle on a flat surface with the middle point facing down, then lightly brush it with the egg. Place a leg skin side down in the middle of the triangle with the foot pointed up so that the top edge of the dough is aligned where the joint would be. With your fingertips, press approximately 2 tablespoons of stuffing onto the thigh. Wrap one top corner of dough down over the thigh. Fold the opposite top corner down over the top and press to adhere. Fold the bottom tip of dough up and press to seal into a packet. Repeat the process to make 4 pastillas.
For the Vadouvan Jus
  1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the squab bones and sear on all sides, about 5 minutes total. Add the vadouvan spice and cook, stirring, for 1 minute, or until very fragrant. Add the chicken stock and simmer until reduced; the thickness should be enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve and keep warm.
For the Avocado Chutney
  1. Place all the ingredients in a small bowl. Mash with a fork until well combined but small chunks of avocado still remain. Season with salt and pepper. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on the surface of the avocado chutney and store, chilled.
For the Glazed Radishes
  1. Trim the radishes, leaving a bit of the stem, and rinse. With a mandoline, shave 2 of the red radishes from stem to tip into a small bowl of ice water. Trim the breakfast radishes, leaving a small leaf sprig attached, then quarter them lengthwise halfway up from the tips; submerge them in the ice water and reserve for the garnish.
  2. Cut the remaining red radishes in half. Use a ¾-inch ring cutter to cut 4 cylinders from 8 of the halves. Transfer the halves and cylinders to a medium sauté pan with the chicken stock and butter and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until the chicken stock and butter have reduced to a glaze and the radishes are tender, about 10 minutes. Keep warm.
To Finish
  1. Preheat the broiler.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat and sear the pastilla legs for 4 minutes on each side, until crispy and golden brown.
  3. Remove the squab breasts from the marinade and place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Broil the breasts for 6 to 8 minutes, flipping halfway through, until medium rare (internal temperature of 135°F). Spoon the reserved yogurt sauce onto the breasts in the last 2 minutes of cooking.
  4. For each portion, set a breast on the bottom of a warm plate and set a large spoonful of avocado chutney alongside it. Set 1 leg pastilla against the breast, with the foot sticking up. Arrange 2 glazed radish halves, 2 radish cylinders, and 1 breakfast radish around the squab. Spoon a few dots of jus around the squab and sprinkle a pinch of vadouvan spice onto the plate. Garnish with 2 nasturtium leaves and a few radish shavings.