December 10, 2006
Precious cargo
Tiny quail eggs were my prize purchase from the Food and Life fair in Munich yesterday. Perhaps their diminutive size made me feel strangely protective of them; I ran interference as I hand-carried them through the fair. I cradled the mini-carton to my chest while navigating through the Saturday crowds, the long, standing-room-only train ride home ... and a switch of trains at the mad Hauptbanhof, Munich's main station. But worry not, I made it home with my fragile little speckled friends. And quite a few other goodies as well!
The fair turned out to be quite nice. Some might have called it small but I think the size was just right - not so many vendors as to be overwhelming; enough to spend a bit of time at each booth and leave the fair full, exhausted, and weighed down with purchases. There were a good variety of high-quality regionally produced products, some organic; the only large companies represented were Gran Padano and Nordsee. Everything was up for sampling; I was shy at first, because don't have much experience with free samples in Germany. But many people implored me to not only take pictures, but taste! taste! On offer were Italian, French, and German cheeses and charcuterie, wine, varieties of wonderful oils and vinegars, sweets, drinks, kitchen items, spices ... a few booths had over-common (and overpriced) items like jarred bruschetta, tzatziki, dips ... but for the most part the products were interesting if not unusual.
At one of the many salami stands, I sampled a thin slice of air-dried, wild boar ham (Wildschwein Schinken). The taste was lean and flavorful, much more powerful than pork ham, more meaty. I bought a piece and deposited it like a lump of gold in my bag, and all the way home I considered the various tasty ways to pair it with the quail eggs....maybe on a salad...maybe thinly sliced and crispy...I daydreamed of Sunday brunch, oblivious to the bundled up, packed-in masses of the train... unless someone came too close and my thoughts were interrupted by an internal shout to "hey! watch my eggs buddy!"
Pics from the Food & Life 2006 Fair
Crispy Salad of Wild Boar Ham and Quail Eggs
Serves 2
For the vinaigrette
1 tbsp fresh lemon juiice;
1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar;
3 tbsp good extra-virgin olive oil;
1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard;
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
For the salad
Mixed greens;
6 thin slices of wild boar ham (you can substitute pancetta or prosciutto);
4 quail eggs;
3 cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered;
fresh basil (thyme would also be nice)
Put all the vinaigrette ingredients into a jar, shake wildly, set aside.
In a small pot, cover the quail eggs with cold water and place over high heat. At the first sign of a boil, take the pot off the heat and set a timer for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, fry the thin slices of ham with a drop of olive oil (if it is lean) in a non-stick pan until crispy and golden brown. Place on a paper towel to drain.
When the eggs are done, quickly run cold water over them. Peel the eggs and slice each one in half.
Make a pile of salad on each plate. Drizzle with a bit of vinaigrette. Place the cherry tomatoes, then the ham, and finally the egg halves. Drizzle with a little more vinaigrette and tear over the basil. Grind a bit of fresh pepper over the salads.
Sources:
Quail Eggs
SIA Paipal Farm
http://www.paipal.lv
Wild Boar Ham
Antichi Sapori dell'Umbria
Via Caravaggio 7
06073 Corciano (PG)
Tel: 075.5068406
http://www.l-bonucci.com
lbonucci@libero.it
