Hot and sticky Roast Quail

INGREDIENTS
4 plump and juicy cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp groundnut oil
1 tsp ground cayenne
½ lemon, juice only
2 tbsp light soy sauce
½ tsp salt
4 tsp grainy mustard
4 oven-ready quail

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Peel and crush the garlic, then mix with the oil, cayenne, lemon juice, soy, salt and mustard. Place the quail in a small roasting tin - they should not touch. Pour over the basting mixture so that the birds are soaked in it and some of it drizzles into the pan.
Roast the quail for twenty to twenty-five minutes, basting once. They should go rather sticky. Eat while they are hot, nibbling the bones and tearing them to pieces as you go.

Spiced Roast Quail

INGREDIENTS
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp paprika
Salt
freshly ground black pepper
8 oven-ready quail
55g butter, melted

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200C, gas mark 6. Crush the fennel finely in a pestle and mortar or a spice mill. Put in a large bowl with the lemon juice, olive oil, paprika and plenty of black pepper. Wipe the quail clean and add to the bowl. Rub the marinade into the birds, cover and leave for 30 minutes. Then transfer the birds with the juices to a roasting tin. Pour over the melted butter. Season with salt and roast in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes, turning the quail in the buttery juices at least twice as they roast.
2. To test that the birds are cooked, pierce with a skewer at the inside leg area where the meat is thickest. The juices should run clear. Transfer to a foil-lined dish and pour over the roasting juices. While the birds cool, turn them in the juices a couple of times. Once cool, wrap in foil and chill.

Quail Roasted with Raspberries and Thyme

INGREDIENTS
8 quail (or 4 poussin)
8 small sprigs thyme
100g butter
250g raspberries
4 slices pancetta, or parma ham
4 tbsp dry sherry or white wine
1 tbsp redcurrant or rowan jelly or heather honey
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6.

1. Wipe and dry the quail. Tuck a sprig of thyme, a nugget of butter and 3-4 raspberries inside each bird. Wrap the breasts in a strip of pancetta or ham (if using ham, rub the breasts with a little butter first), and secure with a cocktail stick or bamboo skewer. Place in a flameproof roasting pan.
2. Roast the birds for 30-40 minutes (poussins need an extra 10 minutes) until the legs wiggle easily in the sockets. Tip the flavourings from inside the birds into the roasting pan. Transfer the birds to a warm dish.
3. Reheat the roasting pan on the hob, add the sherry or wine and bubble up, scraping in all the little brown bits. Stir in the jelly or honey and let it melt. Season the sauce, then strain it if you like. Sauce the birds before serving, or hand the sauce separately. Eat the quail with your fingers - don't waste a scrap.

QUAIL AND MUSHROOMS

INGREDIENTS
6 quail 
1 heaping tablespoon butter 
1 teaspoon chopped parsley 
1 teaspoon chopped onion 
1 tablespoon flour 
1 can mushrooms and liquid 
1 cup sherry 
1/2 teaspoon pepper 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
Tabasco to taste

METHOD
Brown quail in seperate skillet, before adding other ingredients. Place breast down in sauce, simmer 1/2 hour or until tender. To make sauce, saute until brown with parsley and onion. Add flour and brown. Then add mushrooms and liquid, sherry, salt and pepper. Cook thoroughly.