Method

For the spiced quail:

1. First prepare the bird. If you’ve bought an oven ready bird it should be ready for you to start butchering.
   • Firstly, turn the quail over so it is skin side up and press firmly on the breast bone to flatten the bird, this technique is called spatchcocking. Gently push the legs away from the bird (a).
   • Now you can remove the legs (b); carefully cut around the joint which secures the legs to the crown. They should come away fairly easily. I then like to tidy it up by chopping off the top of the leg bone and scraping away some of the spare sinew and flesh. I then push the leg meat down a little towards the bottom of the joint so it almost forms a quail leg lollipop (c). This way you should be left with a clean bone at the top and nice, succulent meat at the bottom.
   • The next step is to remove the back bone; take a sharp knife and cut down either side of the back bone starting from the parsons nose. I do this just enough to start loosening it and then use my hand to remove the rest.
   • Now you can return your attention to the breast. Very carefully remove the wish bone which is found in the top of the neck cavity. From there you should gradually be able to remove the breast bones and rib cage using small, smooth cutting actions with your knife. Again i use my hands to help prise away any stubborn bits. You should then be left with a butterflied breast with no bones, and two leg joints (d).
     
2. Next prepare your spice rub. Place the spice ingredients into a medium bowl along with the minced garlic clove, olive oil and some salt and pepper. Add the prepared quail and mix thoroughly with your hands making sure the meat is fully covered. Place in the fridge and leave to marinate for at least 2 hours.
3. When you are ready to cook the quail, shake off any marinade and place on an oiled baking tray under a pre-heated grill (set at medium). Use the following timings as a rough estimate but they can vary depending on the size of the bird.
   • Breast: 2 mins skin side down followed by 4 mins skin side up.
   • Legs: 5 mins skin side down followed by 5 mins skin side up.
4. Leave to rest for 10 mins before serving; carve the breast in two.

For the red pepper sauce:

1. Set the oven to 180℃
2. Cut your peppers and tomato in half discarding the seeds from the pepper.
3. Place in a baking tray with 2 peeled and slightly bruised garlic cloves, 2 sprigs of rosemary and 4 tbsp of olive oil. Season and mix well.
4. Cook in the oven until the peppers and tomato have started to turn black and charred in places; you may worry you’ve overcooked it at this stage but the burnt skin adds flavour and depth to the sauce.
5. Once everything is cooked add to a small blender with a squeeze of lemon juice and more seasoning if required. If you find your sauce is too thick you can add a little bit of water to loosen.
6. Pass through a course sieve to remove any of the larger bits of skin and then keep covered at room temperature until ready to plate up.

For the tahini sauce:

1. Simply mix together the yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, minced garlic and season to taste.

For the crispy artichokes:

1. Drain your artichoke hearts and set aside.
2. In three separate bowls add the seasoned flour, the beaten egg and finally the panko bread crumbs.
3. Taking one artichoke heart at a time first dip in to the flour, then the egg and then the breadcrumbs. Repeat this step with the remaining artichokes.
4. Heat the oil on a medium/high heat in a shallow frying pan; you just need enough oil to fill the bottom of the pan. Once the oil is hot enough (you can test when it is ready by dropping in some breadcrumbs, if they sizzle you’re ready to cook). Add your breaded artichokes; they should take a minute to start crisping up; keep turning them as they brown so they are cooked all over.
5. Drain on kitchen paper, season and keep warm until ready to plate.

For the chopped salad:

1. Finely chop the red chilli, almonds, lemon peel, mint and coriander leaves. Toss together in a bowl with the lemon juice and season to taste.
2. Set aside until you ready to plate.

For the plating:

1. See photo below: I like to sit the quail on top of a sweep of the tahini and pepper sauce.
2. It’s nice to pile the meat up so it looks generous and not over stylised.
3. Spoon over the salad and dot the artichokes around the plate.
4. I like to finish off with some sliced chilli and more coriander leaves just to accentuate the colours and flavours.

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