Thyme Roasted Quail with Pears

Name: Thyme Roasted Quail with Pears
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Ingredients: 350 g baby leeks; 4 oven-ready quail or poussin; plenty thyme sprigs (extra for garnish); 75 g unsalted butter; 8 slices pancetta slices; 3 Russet pears (such as Taylor's Gold, cored and cut into wedges); 500 ml pear wine (or pear cider); 2 tsp plain flour

Thyme-roasted partridge with caramelized pears and pancetta, finished with a perry sauce

1h 5m

Easy

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Ingredients

baby leeks 350 g

oven-ready quail or poussin 4

thyme sprigs (extra for garnish) plenty

unsalted butter 75 g

pancetta slices 8 slices

Russet pears (such as Taylor's Gold, cored and cut into wedges) 3

pear wine (or pear cider) 500 ml

plain flour 2 tsp

Instructions

Prepare the leeks and quail

Preheat the oven to 190°C (fan 170°C). Blanch the unpeeled baby leeks in boiling water for 3 minutes until just tender. Drain, cool, then peel. Rinse the quail and pat dry with kitchen paper. Season, and stuff a few sprigs of thyme into each quail cavity. Place in a shallow roasting pan and dot with half the remaining butter. Scatter the leeks around, and roast for 10 minutes. Crumble the pancetta slices over the quail and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.

Pan-fry the pears

Meanwhile, heat half the remaining butter in a frying pan and fry the pears cut-side down for 3-4 minutes until golden and tender. Transfer to a plate. Add the pear wine to the pan and boil rapidly to reduce by about half.

Make the sauce

Mix the remaining butter with the flour to form a paste. Whisk into the reduced mixture until thick and glossy.

Finish roasting

Scatter the pears around the quail and pour the sauce into the pan. Return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes until the quail is cooked through. Garnish with extra thyme sprigs and serve.