One Pot Quail Recipe with Preserved Lemon — A Casa Adora Braise

This one pot quail recipe has a long backstory. The first quail I ever ate was at a Swiss restaurant in Brussels — juicy, perfectly cooked, nothing like the dried-out game bird I'd been half-expecting. The chef told me she'd cooked them in a vapour oven. I filed that away and moved on.

Within a year, my then-wife and I were living in south-west France, where quail were ten a penny — ninety cents a piece at the market. We ate them regularly, roasted with potatoes, garlic, rosemary, and a simple jus made from the pan juices and white wine. Nothing complicated. Just good ingredients and a hot oven.

Fast forward twenty years to rural Andalucía, where quail are still cheap, still readily available, and still one of the more underrated birds you can put in a pot. Tonight I'm braising two of them – one each or both for one very hungry cook – with preserved lemon, raisins, cumin, and a splash of white wine.

One pot quail with preserved lemon — Casa Adora

INGREDIENTS for one pot quail recipe

(serves 1–2)

• 2 quail
• 2 slices preserved lemon (make your own here)
• 2–3 shallots, finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• Small handful of raisins
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• Cayenne pepper, to taste
• 1 bay leaf
• 100ml good chicken or vegetable stock
• 100ml dry white wine
• Olive oil
• Black pepper

METHOD for one pot quail recipe

1. Brown the birds Warm a generous glug of olive oil in a lidded pot over medium heat. Season the quail with black pepper and brown them all over — about 5 minutes, turning as needed. Set aside.

2. Build the base Add the shallots and garlic to the same pot and cook gently for 2–3 minutes until softened. Pour in the white wine and let it reduce by half, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pot.

3. Add the aromatics Pour in the stock. Add the raisins and bay leaf. Tuck the preserved lemon slices into the quail cavities, then return the birds to the pot. Sprinkle the cumin, coriander, and cayenne over the top.

4. Braise Bring to a gentle simmer, put the lid on, and cook for 25 minutes. The quail is done when the juices run clear and the flesh pulls easily from the bone.

5. Serve Lift the birds onto warm plates and spoon the braising juices, raisins, and shallots over the top. Good with flatbread or crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

A FEW NOTES

The preserved lemon does a lot of work here — it adds a deep, slightly funky saltiness that lifts the whole dish. Don't skip it and don't substitute fresh lemon; the flavour is completely different. If you don't have a jar ready, the preserved lemons recipe takes ten minutes to put together and keeps for months.

Quail are forgiving birds as long as you don't rush them. Twenty-five minutes at a gentle simmer is enough — push beyond that and they start to dry out.

Cayenne is to taste. I use enough to feel it but not enough to fight with the lemon.

This one pot quail recipe is part of the Game Recipes hub — a collection of wild and seasonal recipes from Casa Adora and the road. It's also part of the Slow Cooker & Slow Cooking Recipes collection, my North African Recipes — From the Moorish Kitchen at Casa Adora, and my Spanish Recipes collection.

All recipe hubs → Recipe Hubs

Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef