Beccaccia su crostone di polenta - Woodcock on a polenta crust
Armando Monte (1968), Alba

Beccaccia su crostone di polenta - Woodcock on a polenta crust Ingredients
1 woodcock
1 slice of bacon
50g lard
50g butter
25g ham
1/2 carrot
Celery
A handful of parsley
1 bay leaf
10 juniper berries
1 glass Marsala wine
A polenta crust, baked in oven

Feather, gut and clean the woodcock; wrap it in a slice of bacon and tie it.
In a saucepan lightly fry the chopped ham, carrot, celery, parsley and bay leaf in the lard and butter. Add the woodcock, and brown it uniformly, turning it constantly.
Add the juniper berries and Marsala wine.
When the woodcock is cooked, place it onm the baked polenta crust, pass the gravy through a sieve and pour it over the bird.

Wine Suggested: Polenta is the typical dish of the cold season, a standard in northern Italy, when the snow keep people inside their home.
We would drink Barbera like every Piedmontese would do, but why not try to open a Merlot bottle? Castello di Lispida, Montelispida 2002.

Photo Credit by Convivium