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Quail, Smoked Ricotta and Silverbeet
Recipe by Elise Pulbrook
This crispy skinned quail is taken to a whole new level with the addition of a cherry and quail sauce, extra caramelised cherries and smoked ricotta
- Steps
- Ingredients
Ingredients
Quail and Cherry Sauce
Smoked Ricotta
Caramelised and Tangy Cherries
Pistachios
Silverbeet
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Steps
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- For the Quail, debone the quails. Use scissors to cut out the necks and spines, then a filleting knife to remove the breasts off the frames. Retain legs and thighs on the bone. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with a touch of olive oil. Set aside.
- Finely chop the wings, necks and bones and place into a medium frypan.
- Add olive oil and place over medium high heat. Cook until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add cherries to the pan and toss through the quail bones until the cherries begin to blister. Squish some cherries with a potato masher.
- Deglaze the pan with water then reduce the heat to low. Simmer, pressing on cherries occasionally, until liquid has reduced and thickened slightly, about 18-20 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into a saucepan. Return to a low heat and whisk in butter. Season to taste. Rewarm gently to serve.
- To cook the quail, place a medium frypan over medium heat. Once hot, add oil and place quail skin side down into the pan and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Turn and continue to cook for a further one minute for the breasts and 2 minutes for the legs. Remove from the pan and set aside to rest.
- For the Smoked Ricotta, line a large sieve with several layers of muslin cloth and place over a large bowl.
- Place milk, cream and vinegar into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir gently liquid starts to curdle. Remove from the heat and set aside for 10-15 minutes.
- Carefully pour into the prepared sieve and set aside to strain.
- Transfer ricotta to a clean bowl and season with salt, pepper and a little olive oil.
- Cover bowl with cling wrap. Prepare the smoking gun then insert the hose under the cling wrap. Fill bowl with smoke for 30 seconds then remove the hose and re-seal the cling wrap. Set aside for 2 minutes then uncover and stir the ricotta. Cover and set aside in the fridge.
- For the Caramelised Cherries, place butter into a small pan over medium heat. Once golden, add half of the cherries, cut side down, into the pan then sprinkle with sugar. When the sugar has melted and the cherries have caramelised, remove from pan and set aside on a sheet of baking paper.
- For the Tangy Cherries, place the remaining cherry halves into small bowl and dress with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- For the Pistachios, spread pistachios over a baking tray and roast for approximately 8-12 minutes. Crush in mortar and pestle.
- For the Silverbeet, place olive oil into medium frypan over medium heat. Add silverbeet and sauté until tender, about 6-7 minutes. Add butter and toss the silverbeet through. Season with salt, to taste and remove from the heat.
- To serve, place a spoonful of Smoked Ricotta and Silverbeet into the base of each dish. Add the quail, some Caramelised and Tangy Cherries and sprinkle of Crushed Pistachios. Serve with the sauce on the side.
