Wednesday, August 8, 2012

183/656 - Quail with dried figs and olives

Number two recipe for my favourite little bird! 

There were a couple of cheats going on in the execution of this recipe. First of all I knew Trev was going to be away when I made this and so I decided to halve the quantities and cook only two quail. The bigger cheat though was that I did not soak my dried figs in wine overnight, but instead used pre-marinated baby figs (which was a decadent and wonderful choice by the way!)

I absolutely love working with little quail. It reminds me a lot of buying baby clothes for the first time and being fascinated by the impossibly small size of every piece. Similarly I love the miniature little legs and wings on quail, being so used to working with sturdy chickens with legs that fit in the palm of your hand rather than resting snugly on two fingers. 

This was a very simple recipe but with really gorgeous flavours. Although I did not need to pre-soak my figs I certainly still added the wine to the recipe. The resulting sauce was rich but not overly so. Cooking the quail in the sauce on the stove top and then in the oven meant that the flavours completely permeated the birds and so every bite of meat was nothing short of glorious.   

And what is it about me and parsley? As per usual I had a little pile of parsley chopped but forgot to scatter it over the top of the dish until after we had started to eat. We added it late (better than never!) and it was indeed a positive addition to this already very tasty meal.  

When cleaning the plates I noticed amongst the pile of ravaged bones a weeny little wishbone that was just crying out to be washed and wished upon. 

The boys made their respective wishes while clutching this fragile little bone, and when they pulled, the top broke off completely and flew across the room. We decided this meant that both of their wishes would come true. One of the few times in life when there was no winner and no loser. 

How very nice.  

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