The recipe for these quail eggs comes from my neighbour John, a quail egg supplier. The beetroot juice gives the eggs an iridescent colour that looks fabulous in a salad of beetroot, Spanish onion and bitter greens such as chicory, raddichio and beetroot leaves, or with strips of crisp bacon, toasted walnuts and a mustard cream dressing. You’ll need to begin this recipe two weeks ahead.
Ingredients
Method
Main
1.Bring beetroot juice, vinegar, sugar, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, chilli, cinnamon and ½ tsp sea salt to the boil in a large saucepan over medium heat, remove from heat and keep warm.
2.Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil over high heat, add quail eggs, cook for 2 minutes, drain and refresh in iced water. Carefully peel eggs, place in a 500ml sterilised jar, pour warm beetroot juice mixture over, set aside to cool, add mint leaves, seal with a lid and refrigerate to pickle (2 weeks). John’s beetroot-pickled quail eggs will keep refrigerated for 2 months.
To make beetroot juice, coarsely chop beetroot and pass through a juice extractor. Alternatively, process beetroot in a food processor until finely puréed, then pass through a fine sieve.
This recipe is from the May 2012 issue of
.
Drink Suggestion: Sweetish pink sparkling wine, such as Brachetto. Drink suggestion by Max Allen
Notes
