Broiled Quail with Braised Fennel

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

6 people added this to their Recipe Box

This recipe makes 8 servings

Nutritional Info
Per each of 8 servings: about	-
cal	457457 cal
pro	41 g41g pro
total fat	29 g29g total fat
sat. fat	9 g9g sat. fat
carb	5 g5g carb
fibre	2 g2g fibre
chol	145 mg145mg chol
sodium	484 mg484mg sodium
% RDI:	-
calcium	66 calcium
iron	5555 iron
vit A	1515 vit A
vit C	1818 vit C
folate	1010 folate

With rich flavour and plump breasts, quails are delicious and best eaten by hand. For a formal table, you might want to provide finger bowls of warm water with a slice of lemon for each guest. Instead of broiling, you could also grill the birds over medium-high heat. Serve with rice accented with a bit of saffron.

Ingredients

8 8jumbo quail, or 12 regular quails (4 lb/2 kg total)
6 cloves garlic , minced6 6cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 1/4cup cupextra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice 1/4 1/4cup cuplemon juice
2 tbsp brandy 2 2tbsp tbspbrandy
2 2tsp tspchopped fresh oregano, or 1 tsp/5 ml dried
2 tsp fennel seeds 2 2tsp tspfennel seeds
1-1/2 tsp salt 1-1/2 1-1/2tsp tspsalt
1/2 tsp pepper 1/2 1/2tsp tsppepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 1/4 1/4tsp tspcayenne pepper
8 lemon wedges 8 8lemon wedges
Braised Fennel:
2 fennel bulbs 2 2fennel bulbfennel bulbs
2 tbsp butter 2 2tbsp tbspbutter
1/2 cup sodium-reduced chicken stock 1/2 1/2cup cupsodium-reduced chicken stock
1/4 cup dry white wine , optional1/4 1/4cup cupdry white wine, optional
1/4 tsp salt 1/4 1/4tsp tspsalt
1/4 tsp pepper 1/4 1/4tsp tsppepper

Preparation

Holding each quail breast side down and using scissors, cut along both sides of backbone and remove bone. In large bowl, sprinkle quails with garlic, oil, lemon juice, brandy, oregano, fennel seeds, salt, pepper and cayenne; toss to coat insides and outsides evenly. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for 4 hours. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.)

Braised Fennel: Meanwhile, cut stalks from fennel, reserving handful of fronds. Cut each bulb into 6 or 8 wedges. In large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat; fry fennel, turning often, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Pour in stock, 1/2 cup (125 mL) water, wine (if using), salt and pepper; cover and simmer over medium heat until tender, about 15 minutes.

Uncover and cook over high heat until liquid is reduced enough to cling to fennel, 6 to 8 minutes; keep warm. Sprinkle with reserved fronds before serving.

Arrange quail, skin side up, on greased rack on baking sheet; broil about 5 inches (12 cm) from heat until golden, about 5 minutes. Turn and broil until juices run clear when quail is pierced and just a hint of pink remains at centre, 5 minutes for regular quail, 6 to 8 minutes for jumbo. Turn and broil until browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve with fennel and lemon wedges.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: January 2008