Name: Salt & pepper quails with Thai herb & bean salad
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 4 quails; thumb-size piece ginger roughly chopped; 4 coriander sprigs, roughly chopped; 1 garlic clove roughly chopped; 1 tsp white peppercorns; 2 tbsp vegetable oil plus extra for frying; 2 tsp flour; 1 large red chilli finely shredded; 6 snake beans or a good handful green beans, blanched (cut into lengths if using snake beans) - see tip; ½ tsp lime leaves finely shredded; small handful each coriander, Thai basil and flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked; few mint sprigs, leaves picked; 2 Thai shallots or 2 small shallots, sliced; 1 spring onion thinly sliced on an angle; 1 small red chilli shredded; 2 tbsp fish sauce; 2 tbsp lime juice; 4 tsp palm sugar or soft light brown sugar

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Salt & pepper quails with Thai herb & bean salad

Salt & pepper quails with Thai herb & bean salad

John Torode

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Serves 2

More effort

Prep: 1 hr

Cook: 25 mins

A star rating of 4 out of 5.1 ratingRate

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Packed with fresh Thai flavours, these quails make a special supper for two

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Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

4 quails

For the rub

thumb-size piece ginger

roughly chopped
4 coriander

sprigs, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove

roughly chopped

For the paste

1 tsp white peppercorns
2 tbsp vegetable oil

plus extra for frying
2 tsp flour

For the salad

1 large red chilli

finely shredded
6 snake beans

or a good handful green beans, blanched (cut into lengths if using snake beans) - see tip
½ tsp lime leaves

finely shredded
small handful each coriander, Thai basil

and flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
few mint

sprigs, leaves picked
2 Thai shallots

or 2 small shallots, sliced
1 spring onion

thinly sliced on an angle
1 small red chilli

shredded

For the dressing

2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
4 tsp palm sugar

or soft light brown sugar

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Nutrition: per serving

kcal630
fat42g
saturates9g
carbs15g
sugars10g
fibre1g
protein48g
salt2.96g

Method

step 1

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put all the rub ingredients in a mortar and use a pestle to grind them together, then rub some inside each quail.
step 2

For the paste, again grind 1 tsp sea salt and the pepper together in a mortar using a pestle, then stir in the oil and flour.
step 3

Heat a little vegetable oil in a heavybased frying pan and carefully brown the quails all over – in batches if you need. Lift into a roasting tin, rub all over with the salt and pepper paste, then roast in the oven for 10-15 mins until golden and cooked to your liking.
step 4

For the salad, pound the dressing ingredients together using a mortar and pestle. Mix all the salad ingredients in a bowl. Just before serving, toss the dressing with the salad and serve alongside the quail and rice.

RECIPE TIPS

BLANCHING BEANS

To blanch beans, cut them into lengths, then cook in boiling, salted water for 3-5 mins until tender but still with a slight 'bite'.

COOK IT ON THE BBQ

To cook quails on the barbecue, spatchcock them as in this technique video, before cooking through on the barbecue.

PERFECT RICE

Wash 225g/8oz long-grain rice until the water runs clear, then put it in a goodsize saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Add 300ml water, a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil with the lid on. Continue to boil for 6 mins, then turn the heat to as low as possible and continue to cook for 5 mins. Turn off the heat but don’t lift the lid, then leave for 10 mins before fluffing up the grains with a large fork and serving.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, May 2010

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