Madeleine Roux : Moveable feast
Food fashion victims went through a quail- egg phase some time ago. Naked little ovals were served in nests of designer lettuce, or tiny fried eggs on toast bites. As if this fascination with miniature werent enough prepare for the arrival of the quail itself. Its not much bigger than the eggs, weighing in at around 230g, sans feathers.
And quails are just about the grootste gebeurtenis youve seen this year, leaving chefs a-twitter.
Plucked, boned and stuffed with anything from feta to fresh pt de fois gras, these birds were hailed with cries of delight and recognition by the army of Europe-starved cooks in Joburg.
Quails are, after all, the most chic birds for the table, long revered by the decadent rich, who like their food presented whole, to be eaten with the fingers. Very, very expensive.
Now quails are bred down here in the Klein Karoo, prepared for market (sounds better than slaughtered) and sent off to grace grand kitchens in the north.
There is one tiny hitch: customers dont like, and resolutely wont buy and eat, these little birds. Unlike its wildly popular egg, the quail itself is regarded with suspicion. The chefs are tearing at their toques. Whats wrong with these girls! They eat chicken wings, non?
Alas, they do. Blackened Cajun chicken wings, yes pathetic little kwartelboudjies op toast, nee dankie.
Pity. There are delicious recipes for quails. In Gascony, south-west France, theyre seasoned with armagnac and rubbed with duck fat, wrapped in paper parcels and grilled over embers.
Vine leaves make a natural wrapping, just the right size, and with another wrapping of a bacon rasher, they can be casseroled with chopped spring onions in olive oil. Add two glasses of really good white wine, cook the juices down, add 20 grapes (imported from California local grapes grow later), warm through and pour the sauce over the quails. Serve whole.
For simplicity, arrange your quails neatly on a large braai grid, brush with olive oil, lemon, garlic and rosemary, and grill to perfection in the early summer air.
Remember that quail are, after all, game birds. Any rich sauce for venison will be delicious with them. Salsa Victoria is a sauce for the goose, and perfect for quail.
Melt three tablespoons blackcurrant jelly in a pot over low heat. Add 300ml port, 300ml good meat (or venison) stock, grated rind of an orange, one stick cinnamon, salt and fresh black pepper. Simmer the sauce for 10 minutes, then sieve into a bowl and add the juice of the orange. Season with a pinch of cayenne pepper and serve over plump roasted quail.
Face the fact you cant carve them. So tear in with your bare fingers and try not to think of dierbare klein voeltjies.