For the Quail Brine:
Bring water to a boil in a large stock pot. Once water comes to a rolling boil, remove from heat and add sugar and salt. Stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Then, add enough ice to bring the water volume to one gallon.

Once the brine has cooled, add the rest of the spices, lemon peel, and the raw quail into a container large enough to cover the quail. Refrigerate for at least 2½ hours.

For Roasting:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Next, remove quail from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels. Set aside and allow it to come to room temperature, about 30-40 minutes.

While quail is setting, melt butter in a small skillet. Add

Ras El Hanout

Ras El Hanout

We all love a good mystery, and it’s doubly true in the case of the secret ingredient: plainly there for us to taste but elusively masked within the dish. Spice merchants know this, ...

and whisk together before removing from heat. Apply butter mixture liberally to the quail using a spoon or basting brush. 

Roast quail, preferably on a grill rack, for 12-17 minutes, the skin will start to brown and crisp. 

For the Honey Glaze:

In a small saucepan, heat honey and coriander over medium heat, stirring often. Once honey has reduced by half, about 8 minutes, discard the coriander seeds.

With a basting brush, glaze the roasted quail with honey and finish it off with

Sel de Mer

Sel de Mer

This deep, peaty sea salt from France has a coarse texture and mineral-rich flavor. A light gray color to the coarse crystal comes from the natural minerals from the sea water. Sel d...

. Serve warm over rice pilaf, and top it off with pistachio relish.

For the Wild Rice Pilaf:
In a small saucepan, bring stock to boil. Add the rice, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf. Reduce the heat and simmer until rice kernels open, about 45-50 minutes.

While rice cooks, add olive oil to a pan and sauté onion on medium heat until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic to the onions and continue sautéing until garlic is lightly browned.

When rice is nearly cooked, add the onion/garlic mixture, and dates. Cover pan until the dates have dehydrated, about 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste.

For the Paradise Pistachio Relish:
Use the bottom of a bowl or mortar and pestle to roughly crush pistachios.

Combine pistachios, parsley, mint, garlic and lemon zest and juice in a mixing bowl. Slowly add olive oil, mixing as you go, then add Aleppo pepper, grains of paradise and salt.

Cover bowl and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.