Quails on Mushrooms
Submitted by djbrem
Roasted quail on large flat mushrooms with a fresh herb duxelles stuffed under the skin. An elegant French bistro main where the birds drip their juices onto their mushroom thrones.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
40 minREADY
1 hrsThe charm of this dish is in the architecture. Each plump little quail roasts on a rack directly above a big flat mushroom, positioned so that every drop of buttery, herb-scented juice that falls from the bird lands right on its mushroom below. The bird cooks fast and crisp; the mushroom soaks up the drippings and becomes an umami-rich plate of its own.
The duxelles stuffing is classic French technique: finely hand-chopped mushrooms (not food processor, which turns them to paste) mixed with garlic, parsley, chives, and tarragon, cooked briefly in butter with lemon juice and seasoning. Slipped gently under each quail’s breast skin before roasting, it both seasons the meat from underneath and plumps the bird into that pretty domed shape you see in restaurant plating. A garlic-butter rub on the outside does the rest.
Chef Tips
- Roast breast-down first for 15 minutes so the leg meat cooks through without drying the breast.
- Use dried porcini in the duxelles (rehydrated, chopped) for a deeper, more complex mushroom flavor.
- Look for portobello or large field mushrooms for the base; gills-up catches the juices best.
- Serve the quail perched right on top of their mushrooms for the presentation the dish is designed for.
Variations
- Swap tarragon for fresh thyme or marjoram for a different herb profile.
- Add a splash of dry sherry or brandy to the duxelles for extra depth.
- Serve over toasted brioche slices to catch the juices instead of (or alongside) mushrooms.
Ingredients
Directions
To make the duxelles, first chop the 6 oz mushrooms plus the stalks from the big flat mushrooms on which you will sit the quails. Chop finely, using a knife, not a food processor.
Mix in 1 very finely chopped garlic clove, about 9 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, 3 tablespoons snipped chives and 1 heaped tablespoon fresh tarragon (or a generous 1½ teaspoon dried tarragon if fresh is not available).
Cook the mixture in a little butter over moderate heat for 3 minutes or so, stirring often. Season well with salt, pepper and about 2 teaspoons lemon juice. Let the duxelles cool before using it to stuff the birds.
Spread it gently between the flesh and the skin, all over the breast area, to plump up the quails prettily.
Secure the flap of neck skin under each bird with a wooden toothpick. If the skin is torn, put the stuffing into the body cavities instead. Tie up the legs of each bird to keep it neatly shaped.
Make about 5 oz garlic butter and reserve it.
Choose a roasting tin or baking dish just large enough to take the 6 flat mushrooms side by side.
When ready to cook, melt a nugget of the garlic butter in the roasting tin.
Turn the birds in it to coat them with fat, then arrange them, breast down, on a rack suspended across the roasting tin. Bake at 425℉ (220℃) (220 C) gas mark 7 for 15 minutes.
Put the mushrooms in the tin, arranging them gill side up, and dot them with the rest of the garlic butter.
Put the rack of quails back on top of the tin and turn the birds breast side up. Position the birds carefully, placing each one above a mushroom so that the meat juices will drip on to the mushrooms during cooking.
Bake for 20 minutes or so until the birds and mushrooms are perfectly cooked. Sit the birds on the mushrooms and serve straight away, or cover and keep hot at 250 F (120 C) gas mark ½ until ready to serve.
Rice, couscous or burghul, and crisp peppery watercress go well with this dish.
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