Squabs with Olives
Source: Anonymous, 1920
History
Pichones con aceitunas ("squabs with olives") is one of the poultry-and-game (Aves y Caza) recipes in La Mejor Cocinera, Recetas de Cocina, an anonymously authored Spanish home-cookery manual published by Editorial "Saturnino Calleja" in Madrid; the earliest firmly located editions date to the early 1920s. As the book prints it, the dish is a simple braise: after the squabs are cleaned, they are cooked, covered, with olive oil, white wine, broth (caldo), onion and parsley; once done, the sauce is strained and pitted olives are added to it. The book frames itself as a practical household manual dedicated to "the lady of the house" as the home's first cook — explicitly "whatever her social position" — for the sake of order and economy, gathering recipes "from various regions," most of them economical. Beyond the recipe text itself and the book's own framing, the historical record does not document a specific regional origin, an inventor, a date, or any social or status meaning for this particular preparation.
Ingredients
- squabs (pichones)
- olive oil
- white wine
- caldo (broth)
- onion
- parsley
- pitted olives
Instructions
- Clean and prepare the squabs. Place them in a pot with olive oil, white wine, caldo (broth), onion, and parsley. Cover and bring to a simmer. When the squabs are cooked through, strain the cooking sauce and add the pitted olives to it. Serve the squabs with the olive sauce.