Roger Hickman’s Norfolk Quail leg, breast and egg with celeriac and apple

Roger Hickman

Roger Hickman

7th January 2015
Roger Hickman

Roger Hickman’s Norfolk Quail leg, breast and egg with celeriac and apple

Quail is a lightly flavoured meat that is paired well with a diverse range of flavours, from sherry cinnamon. Take your cooking to the next level with the following Roger Hickman’s Norfolk Quail leg, breast and egg with celeriac and apple recipe. Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 4 Norfolk quail
  • ½ celeriac
  • 4 Norfolk quails eggs
  • 3 Granny Smith apples
  • A bunch of watercress
  • White wine vinegar
  • Rapeseed oil
  • Celery salt
  • Duck fat
  • A hen’s egg
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Butter
  • A little apple juice

Method

Remove the legs from the quail.

Melt enough duck fat in a pan to cover the legs, and bring the fat to a gentle simmer – around 90°C.

Put the legs in the fat and cook until soft, which should take about 40 minutes.

Remove the legs and allow to cool, then trim the legs so that the bone is revealed at the foot end.

Sear the quail crowns in an oven-proof pan with some rapeseed oils.

Then transfer into an oven at 180°C and roast for three to four minutes.

Remove from the oven, allow to rest and cool, then remove the breasts from the crowns.

When you are ready to assemble the dish, warm the legs and breasts in the oven for three minutes.

Poach the quails eggs in their shells in simmering water for two minutes.

Immediately refresh in iced water to stop them cooking any further.

Very carefully peel them.

Whisk the hen’s egg, and wash the quail eggs with this, then coat in the fine breadcrumbs.

Deep fry in rapeseed oil at 200°C until crisp and golden – around one minute.

Cut four wedges of celeriac and roast in a pan with a 50:50 mixture of butter and oil until golden.

Transfer to a baking tray and finish in the oven at 180°C for five minutes.

Take shavings off the rest of the celeriac with a mandolin or peeler, and immerse in cold white wine vinegar for 30 minutes to pickle them.

Dice one of the apples very finely (approx 2mm dice).

Put the rimming, and the other two apples (cored and chopped, including the skin) onto a baking tray and roast in the oven until they are soft.

Now blitz in a food processor, adding a little apple juice if needed, to create a puree.

Make a dressing from equal quantities of apple juice, white wine vinegar and rapeseed oil.

Assemble the dish on the plate as shown in the picture, and garnish with watercress, your dressing and celery salt.

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