Chef's Recipes

Quail, spelt, grape and caperberry salad

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for quail, spelt, grape and caperberry salad by Auge Ristorante, Adelaide.

  • 40 mins preparation
  • 30 mins cooking
  • Serves 4
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Quail, spelt, grape and caperberry salad
"I'd love to make Auge Ristorante's quail, grape and spelt salad. Can you please print the recipe?"
Fiona Gibson, Toorak Gardens, SA
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Ingredients

  • ½ cup (loosely packed) oregano
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) verjuice
  • Finely grated rind and juice of ½ lemon and ½ orange
  • 80 ml (1/3 cup) vegetable oil
  • 4 butterflied quail
  • 50 gm seedless red grapes
  • 1 punnet baby red sorrel, for garnish
  • For drizzling: extra-virgin olive oil
Spelt salad
  • 250 gm cracked spelt (see note)
  • 1 fennel, thinly sliced on a mandolin
  • 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup (loosely packed) basil and mint
  • 30 ml (1½ tbsp) each fig vincotto (see note) and extra-virgin olive oil
Caperberry and grape salad
  • 100 gm caperberries, halved
  • 100 gm seedless red grapes, halved
  • 1 golden shallot, finely diced
  • 1 small red chilli, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp raspberry vinegar

Method

Main
  • 1
    Process oregano, verjuice, rinds, juices and 60ml (¼ cup) vegetable oil in a food processor until a coarse paste. Place quail in a non-reactive container to fit snugly. Spread paste over quail, turn to coat, refrigerate and marinate (8 hours or overnight).
  • 2
    For spelt salad, cook spelt in a saucepan of simmering salted water until tender (10-12 minutes). Drain and set aside to cool. Just before serving, add remaining ingredients, season to taste and toss to combine.
  • 3
    Preheat oven to 200C. Heat remaining oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add quail skin-side down and cook, pressing lightly with a metal spatula to flatten, until golden (2-3 minutes). Turn and cook until golden (1-2 minutes). Transfer to a tray lined with baking paper, add grapes and roast until quail is cooked through (5-7 minutes). Set aside to rest (5 minutes) then cut quail in half.
  • 4
    For caperberry and grape salad, combine ingredients in a bowl, season to taste.
  • 5
    Divide spelt salad between plates, top with quail and roast grapes, then caperberry salad, scatter over red sorrel, season to taste, drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil and serve.

Notes

Note cracked spelt is available from select grocers and is also labeled farro spezzato. Fig vincotto is available from Italian grocers. If unavailable, substitute vincotto.