Quaglie Arrosto
Region: Italy, Veneto
Category: Fowl-Grilled
Season: Summer
Difficulty: Easy but special equipment needed
As one food writer said, the Italian will shoot anything that flies and eat it. 
In the Veneto region, especially in Vicenza, they make polenta e osei, songbirds, such as larks, thrushes, warblers, buntings, or blackbirds, and squares of polenta spit-roasted over a fire of aromatic woods. Osei is the Venetian dialect word for uccelli, small wild birds. You can use quail, squab, or Cornish game hens in this recipe.
[photo: Dennis Gottlieb, in Clifford A. Wright, Grill Italian]
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Preparation Time: 40 minutes
12 quail
12 fresh sage leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
12 thin slices pancetta (about 1/4 pound)
1. Prepare a medium-hot charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill for 15 minutes on medium.
2. Open the cavity of each quail and stuff with a sage leaf and a pinch of black pepper. Wrap a slice of pancetta around the breasts of each quail, securing them with a sturdy toothpick stuck directly through the body.
3. Place the quail on the grill and cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides, about 35 minutes.
Variation:
Add rosemary to the stuffing. Or for the Venetian dish polenta e osei, affix the birds to the spit securely, interspersed with sage leaves and polenta squares.
Note:
Posted: 12/14/2006