Quail Recipes Jamie Oliver Food

ROAST OF INCREDIBLE GAME BIRDS WITH PROPER POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to full whack about 500 degrees F.
• Either ask your butcher to spatchcock the guinea fowl or chicken, and the pheasant for you, or have a go at doing it yourself. Turn the bird upside down and cut underneath the legs with a good pair of scissors. Remove the bony part of the carcass that has no meat on it (bearing in mind that you want to save the incredible meat around the legs) and open the bird out like a book. You can then stuff the cavities of the other birds with flavorings - a sprig of rosemary, a sprig of thyme and a little orange or lemon zest.
• Place the onion, celery and carrots in a large roasting pan (or 2 small ones) and lay the sausages and birds on top. Throw in the bay leaves and the rest of the thyme and rosemary. Drizzle with olive oil and massage it into each bird. Season all the meat generously. Place in the preheated oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 350 degrees F. Cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, turning the birds a few times, until the meat is juicy and cooked through to the bone.
• After half an hour, bring 1 quart of salted water to the boil in a non-stick pan and whisk in the polenta. Turn the heat right down, place a lid on so it's ajar (otherwise the pan might spit hot polenta at you!) and simmer for 50 minutes, stirring it as often as you can. If it starts to become too thick, add some more hot water.
• Remove the birds from the oven, lift them out of the pan and keep warm. Put the pan on the burner, pour in the wine and simmer gently to make a quick sauce. Then see to the polenta - it'll need some serious perking up now. Stir in about 3/4 of the butter and all the grated Parmesan. Once smooth, taste and season if required. It should now be delicious! Spoon all the polenta onto a big board or platter, spread it out evenly and put to 1 side to firm up a little.
• Give your sauce a stir and add the rest of the butter. Strain it through a sieve into a pan, pressing down hard. Cut the bigger birds into drumstick thighs and breast pieces and place with all the other birds on top of your polenta. Slice the sausages and add to the pile. Spoon the red wine sauce over the top and finish with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Put the board in the middle of the table and let everyone dive in. A fantastic feast!
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QUAIL & SAUSAGE SKEWERS WITH CELERIAC

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to full whack.
• Trim, peel and cut the celeriac into 2cm cubes. Cook in a casserole pan on a medium heat with a knob of butter, thyme leaves, a lug of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
• Leave the lid on and cook slowly for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes.
• Cut each sausage into 4 equal pieces, then place on a large platter or board with the quail and bay leaves.
• Slice the sourdough into 2cm cubes, peel and halve the garlic, then core and cut the pear into 8 wedges. Add to the platter.
• Remove the leaves from the rosemary sprigs, but leave the tops intact. Sharpen the bare ends of the sprigs with a knife.
• Finely chop the picked leaves and sprinkle over the meat, along with a few gratings of nutmeg. Drizzle olive oil over everything and season well.
• Take a skewer, put a quail leg on first, then a wedge of pear, a bay leaf, a piece of sausage, bread, quail breast, garlic, and so on, in any order you fancy, until they are all stacked up. Try to put the quail legs and thighs at the end so they get more heat, and breasts in the middle and make sure you don't jam things on so tightly that the heat can't circulate.
• Halve the bacon rashers and wrap them around the skewers wherever you like.
• Cover the leafy skewer tops with tin foil to keep them from burning. Lay in a roasting tray and put in the oven; turn it down to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
• Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden and cooked through, turning and glazing with a little honey and balsamic halfway. During the last 10 minutes, glaze them often to build up a sticky crust.
• Boil the greens for 3 to 4 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain and toss in the pan with a knob of butter, extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.
• Taste the celeriac for seasoning, then divide between the plates with the greens. Put a skewer on each plate, then add yoghurt or crème fraîche to the pan they were cooked in. Scrape the bottom of the pan to pick up all the flavours. Drizzle the pan juices over each plate and dig in.

QUAIL ROASTED WITH HONEY, CUMIN AND ORANGE JUICE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Rub the quail with half the olive oil, then sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Put them breast side up in a roasting pan just large enough to accommodate them. Combine remaining ingredients and brush about half of this mixture over the birds; put in oven.
• After about 10 minutes of roasting, baste with remaining mixture, then continue to roast until done, about 10 minutes more. Serve birds hot, with pan juices, or warm or at room temperature.