Southern-fried quail with blue cheese dressing

blue cheese deep-fried dinner party indulgent iron party quail starter

N/A

Source

Ingredients

100ml buttermilk

¼ tsp ground cumin

3 quails , split in half through the middle so you have six halves

sunflower oil , for deep-frying

celery leaves , to serve (optional)

4 tbsp mayonnaise

4 tbsp buttermilk

40g soft blue cheese , crumbled

pinch celery salt

250g plain flour

½ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp onion salt

¼ tsp dried oregano

¼ tsp chilli flakes

Method

Mix the 100ml buttermilk, cumin and a large pinch of salt together in a bowl. Put the quail halves in the buttermilk mix so they are completely covered, then chill for at least 6 hrs or overnight.

To make the dressing, beat the mayonnaise, buttermilk, cheese and celery salt together – don’t worry if it’s not totally smooth. Keep chilled.

When ready to cook, mix all the spiced flour ingredients together. Heat a deep-fat fryer or a deep pan with sunflower oil to 175C. Remove the quail from the fridge, then dip each half in the spiced our and carefully drop them in the fryer.

Fry for about 6 mins until golden and crisp, then drain on kitchen paper and leave to rest for 2 mins or so. Pile onto a large serving plate, put the blue cheese sauce on the side for dipping, and scatter over the celery leaves, if you like.