Quails with Truffle (Piedmont)

Meat

Wipe the quails carefully and dry them. Place half a truffle, a little salt and pepper, and a teaspoon of brandy onto the cavity of each bird and wrap the bird in a slice of fat bacon. Tie with thread. Arrange the quails side by side in one tight layer in a shallow pan or heatproof casserole.

Melt the butter in another pan and saute the vegetables lightly until soft but not brown. Arrange the vegetables aound the quails, filling in all the spaces. Pour in the stock, cover the pan tightly and cook for 2 to 30 minutes. Take the pan from the heat, add the last truffle, cut into wafer thin slices, cover again and leave to stand on a warm palce for 5 minutes.  Discard the thread and the bacon from the quails. Put the little birds on a hot serving dish. Rub the sauce through a sieve and re-heat quickly.

Serve the quails with polenta or rice, and hand round the sauce seperately.

Serve one or two quails per person.