Salt & pepper quails with Thai herb & bean salad

John Torode2Source

2 servings 800 kcal or less mains masterchef occasion recipe over an hour quail quail recipe quails recipe for two romantic recipe special recipe weekend recipe

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

Method

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.

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.

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.

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.