Guinea Fowl with Olives & Potatoes (Faraona con le Olive e le Patate)

If you have traveled to Italy or other parts of Europe, you may have come across guinea fowl or guinea hen (faraona in Italian). I first encountered it in Italy and found it to be utterly delicious. Although it’s not very common in the USA, it’s something that I think many people would adore if they tried it. If you like chicken but are looking for something a little different, that’s leaner and that has even more flavor, consider trying it. Searching for an Italian guinea fowl recipe? This simple and satisfying recipe could be just what you’re looking for.

Honeymoon memories…

Before I get to the recipe, I need to give a little background. In 2008 my husband and I eloped! Rather than pay for an insanely expensive wedding, we got married in Ischia and then proceeded to spend a month in Italy. We visited Campania, Calabria and lastly, spent a week in Rome. As you can imagine, it was incredibly romantic and is a decision that we’ve never regretted. One way that I’ve kept the memories alive after all of these years is to recreate dishes from our trip at home.

In Rome, we ate at a restaurant that I had visited in 2006 called Ditirambo. I had such a lovely experience previously that I wanted to share the restaurant with my new husband. We had a wonderful meal. In particular, we really enjoyed his main course, which was guinea fowl. It was prepared with white wine, olives, rosemary, garlic, and potatoes. It was nothing fancy but was very memorable. For years afterward, the dish came up in conversation. You know those meals that you never forget? This was one of those.

A couple of years or so after we got back from our honeymoon I found a market that briefly sold guinea fowl. Happily, I bought one so that I could try to recreate this recipe for him. We were very pleased with the results. I proceeded to write it down and then never made it again! Oops! I don’t know how I let that happen, but I did. Now that I have easy access to guinea fowl, I decided recently to cook it again. I am so glad to have revisited this recipe! It was as yummy as we remembered and I will not wait for years before I cook it again!

Something new…

For those of you who have never had guinea fowl before, it is something you might enjoy if you like, say, pheasant. The flavor is slightly gamey but not overwhelmingly so. Apparently, guinea fowl contains 50% less fat than chicken so that’s pretty good incentive to try it! If you can’t readily find guinea fowl in your local market, you can always ask to special order it. I know that D’Artagnan sells it in the US and you can order straight from them if your local butcher won’t get it for you. If you are lucky enough to have a butcher, ask him or her to cut it into 8 serving pieces for you to make the process easier.

If you like the sound of the dish but aren’t interested in guinea fowl, then substitute chicken, preferably thighs or even duck. I think it would work either way. If you use duck, however, you’ll need to drain a decent amount of fat after browning the meat. (You can always keep that fat to cook potatoes in. You’re welcome!)

Now, to the recipe! If you’d like to create an entire Roman-inspired meal, you can start with some Artichoke Crostini with Parsley & Mint, follow with Tonnarelli alla Gricia with Artichokes, then proceed to your Guinea Fowl with Olives & Potatoes. Enjoy!

Guinea Fowl with Olives & Potatoes (Faraona con le Olive e Patate)

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Serves: 4

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.4/5

( 7 voted )

Ingredients

• 1 guinea fowl, about 1 1/2 kg (3 lbs), cut into 8 serving pieces
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 500 g (1 lb 1 oz) potatoes, such as Yukon Gold, cut into wedges, lengthwise
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
• 1/2 cup black olives, such as Gaeta, Taggiasca or Niçoise, pitted
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped for garnish, optional
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat and add the extra virgin olive oil.
2. Season the meat with salt and pepper and brown well on both sides. Once browned, remove to a plate or platter.
3. Next, lower the heat to medium and add the garlic, rosemary sprigs and potatoes, taking care not to burn the garlic. Saute briefly, for a few minutes, until the potatoes begin to lightly brown. 
4. Add the guinea fowl back to the pan with the potatoes and pour in the white wine. Bring to a simmer and scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Cook the wine until you no longer smell any alcohol. It should smell almost a little sweet. The wine should reduce by about half at that point, approximately 3-4 minutes.
5. Next, add the stock and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add the olives, making sure that they are submerged so that they release their flavor. Recover and cook, covered until the meat is tender and the potatoes are cooked through another 15-20 minutes. Stir gently every now and then.
6. Check the sauce for seasoning and remove the rosemary sprigs and garlic cloves. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired. 

Notes

If the meat is cooked before the potatoes are cooked through, put the meat on a platter until the potatoes are tender. Once they are ready, add the meat back into the pan to warm through.