Quail is something I have never eaten let alone cooked but when I saw this recipe for Spicy Lemon Quail from OneBiteMore I immediately wanted to try it. In fact I immediately added it to my menu for the next week but alas I was unable to find quail. But then I finally spotted some Game Farm Quails in Coles.
The first stage of this recipe involves removing the quails neck, cutting the quail down the back bone, removing some of the leftover offal from the inside and flattening it out. I really wasn't keen but sadly my hubby did not come home in time so I had to do the deed. Actually it really wasn't that bad and I would have no worries doing it again.
The quail is then marinated for an hour in a mix of smoked paprika, brown sugar, lemon and lime zest, lime juice, pepper, oil and salt.
You then lay them on a tray and bake for 20 minutes then switch to grill and crisp the skin for about 5 minutes. This worked perfectly with lovely caramelisation of the skin.
The capsicums are stuffed with a gorgeous mix of quinoa, freekah, cumin and sultanas that is pre-cooked on the stove. Then bake to perfection.
As suggested I also made a basil oil to serve. I prepared this the same as Christine Manfield's recipe for parsley oil. Blanch the basil, refresh in ice water, then blend with some of the blanching water, salt and oil. You then strain this through mesh. It works perfectly resulting in a vibrant delicious sauce.
What a delicious and spectacular dish, yet really quite simple to prepare. The quail was so tasty, that marinade was amazing and the caramelised skin was the best. I love the capsicums, that was my type of filling. It also complimented the quail really well. We will definitely be tackling more quail recipes in the future.
