Roasted quail with grapes and forest mushrooms

Season the inside of each quail with a tiny bit of rock salt and put a piece of grape in the cavity.

Cross the legs and tie them with butcher string, knotting firmly.

Wrap a piece of smoked bacon around each quail to protect the breast and tie it with two strings, one at the front and one towards the back. Chill the quails in the fridge.

Rinse the white grapes, plunge them in boiling water for about 10 seconds, scoop them into cold water, then peel off every skin.

Trim the mushroom bases with a small knife, rinse very briefly and pat dry; do not soak them.

Heat a mix of butter and oil in a saute pan over medium to high heat until hot, add the quails on their side and colour them, about four minutes before turning.

Reduce the heat and keep turning the quails gently for a brown, crisp colour all over without burning, another five minutes.

Turn the heat off and finish the quails in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius (about 400 Fahrenheit) for 10 to 15 minutes maximum; just under 10 minutes was used to keep them pink.

Pan fry the mushrooms in a bit of butter over high heat with salt and pepper until their water evaporates.

Add garlic and shallots, toss the pan rather than stirring, cook gently until coloured, then turn off the heat and toss in parsley.

Remove the quails to a plate, cover and keep warm. Pour off the excess fat from the pan.

Over high heat, add shallots to the pan to caramelise the juices, then deglaze with cognac and reduce almost dry.

Add the peeled grapes and colour them briefly in the pan juices, then reserve them for the plate.

Add about 100 ml of brown chicken stock and reduce almost to a glaze.

Pour the reduced glaze over the quails to colour them.

Serve the quails with the grapes and mushrooms around, a little jus over and a little parsley; serve the meat slightly pink, since it dries quickly.