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Prepare and truss the birds as for roasting. Heat the butter in a stewpan, put in the plovers, and brown them slowly on all sides. Then lift them out, put in the chopped onion, and allow it to take a light brown colour. Add the rice, washed and blanched, the tomato puree, stock, and seasonings. Bring to the boil, cook a few minutes, and then return the plovers. Put a tight-fitting lid 1244. Roast Quails (Cailles R6ties) Pluck the birds and remove the head and neck. Draw them from the neck end, leaving the trail or not as preferred. Truss them with a needle and fine string in the same way as a pigeon, and tie a piece of fat bacon and a vine-leaf over the breast of each. Then roast in front of the fire if possible, basting almost constantly with butter. They will require from 12 to 15 minutes. The Quail and Snipe livers may be cut in small pieces, cooked in a little butter, then pounded with pepper and salt and a little good gravy and spread on croutons of bread or small neat pieces of toast. Make these quite hot and serve the birds on the top. The trussing thread must be removed, but not the bacon and vine-leaf. Garnish with a small quantity of watercress and serve with fried bread-crumbs and a simple gravy separately. Time to roast, 12 to 15 minutes. 1245. Broiled Quails (Cailles Grilled) Pluck, singe, and draw the birds. Split them through the back bone and lay them flat without separating the halves. Wipe them carefully and season with salt and pepper. Wrap them in thickly buttered white paper and broil about 5 minutes on each side. Prepare a crouton of fried bread for each bird and as described for Roast Quails, and when the quails are ready place them on the top, removing the paper. Garnish with small sprigs of watercress, and serve bread sauce separately. Time to broil, 10 to 12 minutes. 1246. Quails in Cases (Cailles en Caisses) 5 or 6 quails. Liver farce. Truffles. Brown chaudfroid sauce. Aspic jelly. Prepare some liver farce or mock foie gras as directed in Recipe 1271. Then bone the quails and stuff them with the farce, putting a truffle or part of a truffle in the centre of each. Sew them up, making them as neat a shape as possible. Then braise the birds, or poach them in well-flavoured stock until tender. When ready, lift them out, allow them to cool, and remove the trussing threads. Now coat the quails with brown chaudfroid sauce (see Recipe 715), and, when set, place them in little paper or china cases and garnish with chopped aspic jelly. 1247. Ruffs and Reeves These little birds belong to the snipe family, and should be cooked in the same way. The ruff is the male and the reeve the female bird. 1248. Teal and Widgeon (Sarcelles Roties) Follow the directions given for Wild Duck. A widgeon will take from 20 to 25 minutes to roast, and a teal rather longer. 1249. Roast Snipe (BScassines Roties)