Giorgio Locatelli’s chargrilled quail with apple, frisee and lamb’s lettuce

This is a really fresh salad with some nice acidity and sharpness from the apple. You can grill the quail on the barbecue.

Serves 8
quails 6 large
garlic 1 clove, sliced
mild red chilli 1, sliced
fresh rosemary 1 sprig
extra virgin olive oil 4 tbsp
lamb’s lettuce 600g
frisee leaves from 2 heads
granny smith apples 2, peeled, cored and sliced
Giorgio’s dressing 4 tbsp (see below)
apple balsamic (or balsamic) vinegar 3 tbsp

For Giorgio’s dressing (makes about 375ml)
sea salt ½ tsp
red wine vinegar 3 tbsp
white wine vinegar 2 tbsp
extra virgin olive oil 300ml, preferably a fruity southern Italian one

To make Giorgio’s dressing, put the salt into a bowl. Add the vinegars and leave for a minute to allow the salt to dissolve. Whisk in the olive oil, with 2 tablespoons of water, until the liquids emulsify. Now you can pour the vinaigrette into a clean squeezy bottle and keep it in the fridge for up to a month. It will separate, so just give it a good shake before you use it.

With kitchen scissors, cut each quail in half. Put into a large dish or container and scatter with the garlic and chilli, add the rosemary and drizzle with half the olive oil. Leave in the fridge to marinate for 12 hours, or overnight.

When ready to cook, lift the quail from the marinade and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.

Heat a griddle pan or sauté pan that will transfer to the oven and cook the halves of quail, skin side down, until the skin is crispy. Transfer the pan to the oven for 3-4 minutes, until the quail meat is cooked through. To check, insert a sharp knife into the thighs and the juices should run clear.

In a large bowl mix the lamb’s lettuce, frisee and apple and toss with Giorgio’s dressing, then transfer to a serving dish, place the quail on top, and finish with the rest of the olive oil and the balsamic vinegar.
From Made at Home by Giorgio Locatelli (Fourth Estate, £26)

Smokestak’s favourite barbecue extras – recipes

Pickles

Rich and salty smoked meat calls for something sharp to cut through it. Pickles allow you to play around with different vinegars, aromatics and vegetables, which often lend a bit of texture, too. This is our favourite pickle brine.

Prep 10 min
Cook 20 min
Pickle 4-5 days
Makes 1 litre

1 litre white wine vinegar
300g caster sugar
20g coriander seeds
20g cumin seeds
20g mustard seeds
20g pink peppercorns
1kg vegetables such as cucumber, radishes, fennel or chilli, sliced as thinly as possible (about 1-2mm thick) on the diagonal

 
Bring all the brine ingredients to a boil then turn off the heat. To pickle more robust vegetables such as fennel or chillies, add them to the brine while it is still hot so they soften a bit. For other, more delicate, vegetables such as cucumber or radishes, chill the brine right down (to around 4C) to maintain the texture and colour of the vegetables. Put in a sterilised jar and refrigerate for four to five days, although the pickles will last for weeks.

Wild garlic and mint chimichurri

This south American sauce is especially good with beef and lamb. When wild garlic goes out of season, substitute with two to three garlic cloves and 500g spinach or rocket leaves.

Prep 20 min
Makes 20 portions

500g wild garlic
300g mint
100g parsley
150ml red-wine vinegar
50ml sugar syrup, or honey or maple syrup, to balance sweetness
Maldon salt, to taste

Simply blitz all the ingredients together.
Classic barbecue sauce

This is an all-purpose barbecue sauce that can be served with any grilled or smoked meat. We also use it as a marinade for pork and beef ribs before glazing them with the sauce while they are cooking over a direct heat, turning every couple of minutes repeatedly so they caramelise nicely. This is made possible by the sauce’s high sugar content, building depth of flavour and charring. What barbecue is all about!

Prep 5 min
Cook 1 hr 20 min
Makes 1 litre

250g onions, peeled and chopped
25g garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
250ml cider vinegar
375ml apple juice
1 tsp red chilli flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
40g sugar
40ml Worcestershire sauce
750ml ketchup

Sweat the onions until translucent – about 10 minutes – then add the garlic, and cook for two to three minutes. Add the cider vinegar and reduce to a syrup – about 20 minutes – then add the apple juice and reduce the mixture by half its volume.

In a separate, dry pan, toast the red chilli flakes and cumin, then add to the mixture and stir in. Add the sugar and cook for 20 minutes, or until the sugar caramelises with the other ingredients, then add the Worcestershire sauce. Finally, add the ketchup and cook for another 30 minutes on a medium-low heat.

Use to marinate, glaze or to serve alongside cooked meat.

Jack Monroe’s lentil, bean and kale salad recipe

Move over kale pesto, there’s a new kid in town. It is worth making plenty of this great little salad as the leftovers are perfect for taking to work to scoff at your desk – it is best at room temperature, so it doesn’t matter if you forget to take it out of your bag or fridge space is at a premium. Warm the dressing before tossing it through the salad to further soften the kale and ensure it clings to the beans. Then eat hot, cold or somewhere in between.

(Serves 4 for lunch)

100g dried brown or green lentils

100g dried black-eyed or haricot beans

8 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

A handful of black olives, chopped

A fistful of parsley, torn

80g kale, chopped

For the dressing:

1 fat clove of garlic, minced

1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

130ml olive oil

1 lemon, zested and juiced

Soak the lentils and beans for at least eight hours, and preferably overnight.

Meanwhile, make your dressing – a good steeping in oil and acid will calm the chilli and garlic and meld the flavours. Put the garlic and chilli into a lidded jar and pour over the oil and some of the lemon zest and juice. Screw on the lid tightly and shake vigorously to emulsify. Unscrew, taste and adjust with more lemon, if needed.

When you’re ready to make the salad, thoroughly rinse the lentils and beans and put them in a pan of unsalted cold water. Bring to the boil, scrape off any scum and boil vigorously for 10 minutes. Reduce to a simmer and cook for a further 30 minutes, or until tender. Drain and rinse.

Meanwhile, warm the dressing in a small saucepan over a low heat.

Toss the other salad ingredients together with the pulses – there is no need to cook the kale. Add the dressing to taste and serve.