This roasted Guineafowl is served with fresh herbs, mousseline of Brussels sprouts, braised endives, and fried parsnip chips—all topped with a port and thyme sauce to complete the flavors of your holiday table.
“Game fowl (Guineafowl) is often the star at holiday dinners in many Belgian families. This main course pairs Guinea hens with two delicious Belgian vegetables—endives and Brussels sprouts. The subtle flavor of the Brussels sprouts mousseline balances the braised endives and, together with the roasted fowl, they create a festive plate that will bring culinary joy to your home.”
-CHEF KEVIN HENOUMONT, EMBASSY OF BELGIUM
🇧🇪 Belgium: Roasted Guineafowl in a Mousseline of Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
- 1 Guineafowl (Can't find a Guineafowl? A pheasant-or even a whole chicken-works, too!)
- Fresh herbs (thyme, parsley, rosemary, etc)
- Oil and melted butter (to brush over the Guineafowl)
Sauce
- 1 cup Port wine
- 2 cups Veal stock
- Pepper
- Salt
- Thyme
Mousseline of Brussels Sprouts
- ½ lb Potatoes
- 1 lb Brussels sprouts
- 1 cup Butter
Braised Endives
- 4 Large endives
- 2 tbsp Butter
Fresh Parsnip Chips
- 2 Large parsnips
Instructions
Guinea Fowl
- Preheat the oven to 300°F and put the oven rack in the middle.
- Place the Guineafowl in a buttered dish and season with salt and pepper. Place the herbs in the cavity and brush the Guineafowl with oil and butter. Place the dish in the oven for no more than two hours, or until golden brown.
Mousseline of Brussels Sprouts
- Peel and cut the potatoes, clean and cut the Brussels sprouts. Save some of the green leaves.
- Boil the vegetables in salted water. Once soft, puree them in a blender with the butter and season to taste.
Sauce
- Put all the sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer until volume is reduced by half. Stir in butter (enough to give it gloss and shine; the sauce should become silky). Add more if need be.
- Cut the bitter hearts out of the endives and then cut them lengthwise in four pieces. Sautee them in butter and a small amount of water until soft.
- Reduce the heat and caramelize the endives gently.
Final Steps
- Separate 3 to 4 Brussels sprouts leaves per person and blanche them for a few seconds, then put them in a bowl of water with ice cubes to keep the green color.
- Lastly, fry the parsnip chips in a deep fryer just for a few seconds until they are golden.
- Bon appétit! Smakelijk!