Best Roast Quail With Savoy Cabbage And Kasha Recipes

ROAST QUAIL

Steps:

• If you choose to brine your quail, boil the water or wine with the kosher salt and bay leaves, then turn off the heat and let cool. Submerge the quail in this brine for 2 to 6 hours.
• Preheat your oven to 500°F, or if it doesn't get that hot, as hot as your oven will go. This will take a little while for most ovens, up to 30 minutes. While the oven is preheating, take the quail out of the fridge and pat them dry. Coat with lard, olive oil or butter (your quail will be browner with melted butter) and salt generously. Set aside at room temperature while the oven heats.
• When the oven is hot, get a small roasting pan or cast-iron frying pan and set the quail in it. They will want to tip over, so steady them with cut pieces of the celery stick. Try to prevent the quail from touching each other to speed the cooking process.
• Roast the quail in the oven for 12 to 18 minutes. The lower end of the spectrum will give you quail that are juicy, succulent and a little pink on the inside -- but pale. The higher end of the spectrum will give you a fully cooked, browner quail, but one that is at the edge of being dry. Your choice.
• When you take the quail out of the oven, place on a cutting board and rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Use this time to make the wild game sauce of your choice, or just squirt lemon juice on the birds before serving.

ROAST QUAIL WITH SAVOY CABBAGE AND KASHA

Steps:

• Place quails in a dish and sprinkle garlic, chopped carrot, celery, onion, thyme and 1/4 cup of the oil over all. Let stand an hour or longer.
• Cut outside of zucchini into thin slices (do not use center part), and then into julienne strips. There should be about 3 cups. Cut carrots into slices, then into julienne strips. There should be about 1 1/2 cups.
• Cut cabbage in half. Trim away and discard core. Cut the halves into slices 1/2 inch thick. There should be about 12 cups.
• Cut bacon on the bias into thin strips.
• Put bacon in a large, heavy skillet and cook, stirring, until rendered of fat and starting to brown. Add zucchini and carrots and stir briefly. Add cabbage and caraway seeds. Sprinkle with salt and a generous grinding of pepper. Cook, stirring, about 7 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• In another skillet large enough to hold the quails, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil until almost smoking. Remove quails from marinade and discard marinade. Place quails in skillet skin side down and cook until well browned on one side, about 40 seconds. Turn and cook about a minute on second side. When all quails are browned pour fat from skillet and place quails in the skillet in oven. Bake about 1 minute or until medium rare.
• Drain quails on absorbent towels.
• Spoon equal portions of the cabbage mixture onto 6 dinner plates. Arrange each portion in a ring. Spoon an equal portion of kasha into center of each ring and arrange 2 quails, skin side up, on top of kasha.