Chef Andrea’s ‘quail’ity holiday recipes

We upped our New Year’s Eve meal game with some “quail-ity” options from chef Andrea Monzon using quail eggs.

Caramelized onion and fig crostini with jammy quail eggs – Serves: 16+ 

Prep time: 10 minutes   / Cook time: 40 minutes / Total time: 50 minutes 

Caramelized onion: 

• 2 onions, thinly sliced 
• 2 tbsp butter 
• 1 tbsp olive oil 

Figs: 

• 1/2 cup dried figs, roughly chopped 
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 
• 2 tbsp water 
• 8-10 quail eggs 
• Fig jam 
• 1 large artisanal baguette, cut to 1/2” slices 
• Brie cheese, sliced and cut to fit slices of baguette 

Method 

1. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. 
2. Once boiling, add quail eggs. Set a timer for 2 minutes (soft-boiled). 
3. When the timer is up, scoop the eggs out of the pot and place into a bowl of ice water. 4. Once they’re cool enough, take them out of the water and peel. These will be used to  garnish the crostini. 
4. Place onions in a saucepan along with butter, olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook for 30-40  minutes on very low heat, stirring occasionally until onions are soft and golden. 
5. For figs, place balsamic vinegar and water in a small pot and bring to a boil. 
6. Add chopped dried figs and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. 
7. Turn on oven to BROIL. 
8. Place baguette slices on a parchment lined tray and drizzle with olive oil. Broil for 1-2  minutes, remove from oven, flip slices and broil for another 1-2 minutes.  
9. Spread fig jam on bread slices, top with caramelized onion, brie slice and a few pieces of  balsamic figs and return to the oven for 1-2 minutes.  
10. Remove from oven. 
11. Halve jammy quail eggs placing one half of a quail egg on every crostini. 
12. Serve right away and enjoy! 

Baked Pear with gorgonzola with and jammy quail eggs  – Serves: 6 

Prep time: 15 minutes  / Cook time: 20 minutes  / Total time: 35 minutes 

Ingredients 

• 6 quail eggs 
• 3 pears 
• 3/4 cup gorgonzola cheese 
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans 
• 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked 
• honey to drizzle 

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
2. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. 
3. Once boiling, add quail eggs. Set a timer for 2 minutes (soft-boiled). 
4. When the timer is up, scoop the eggs out of the pot and place into a bowl of ice water. 5. Once they’re cool enough, take them out of the water and peel. These will be used to  garnish the pears. 
5. Cut pears in half, and scoop out the centre. 
6. Fill it with gorgonzola, chopped pecans and thyme leaves 
7. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  
8. Remove from the oven, slice quail eggs in half and place on top go pears.
9. Drizzle with honey and enjoy!

Individual caramelized Onion, mushroom and sage  galette with quail eggs – Serves: 5 

Prep time: 1 hour  / Cook time: 35 minutes  / Total time: 1 hr 35 minutes 

Dough: 

• 1 3/4 cup flour 
• 1/3 cup cold butter, cubed  
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp sugar 
• 3-4 tbsp cold water  

Caramelized onion: 

• 2 onions, thinly sliced 
• 2 tbsp butter 
• 1 tbsp olive oil 

Mushrooms: 

• 1 8oz pack cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced  
• 1 tbsp butter 
• 1 tbsp thyme 
• salt and pepper to taste 
• 5 quail eggs 
• 3/4 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded 
• 2 tbsp chopped Sage leaves, and extra full leaves for garnishing 
• 1 quail egg, for egg wash 

Method: 

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. In a food processor, add all ingredients for dough except water. Blend on high speed until  dough is a a sand texture. Add 1 tbsp water and mix on low speed until mixture turns into a  dough. Adding more water if necessary, 1 tbsp at a time. Remove dough from food  processor and shape into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. 
3. While the dough chills, make caramelized onions and cook mushrooms.  
4. Place onions in a saucepan along with butter, olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook for 30-40  minutes on very low heat, stirring occasionally until onions are soft and golden. 
5. For mushrooms, melt butter and thyme in a medium saucepan over medium heat and sauté  mushrooms in batches, letting them cook until their golden. Place cooked mushrooms on a  plate and continue to cook next batch.  
6. Remove dough from fridge and place on a floured surface. Divide into 5 pieces and roll out  dough into rough circles measuring 12cm in diameter.
7. Add caramelized onion and cooked mushrooms to the centre of the rolled out dough,  leaving a 2cm boarder without filling. 
8. Gently fold the excess pastry over the filling, pleating to hold it in. 
9. Brush pastry with the quail egg wash and sprinkle flaky salt on the crust (optional). 
10. Place gruyere cheese on top filling making sure to leave a space in the centre for the quail  egg and sprinkle chopped sage leaves. 
11. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is golden. 
12. Remove tray from the oven, place a quail egg in the centre of each galette and bake for  another 3 minutes. Egg whites should be cooked and yolks should be runny. 
13. Cool for at least 10 minutes on a wire rack and enjoy!

Crispy Potato Nests With Quail Eggs – Serves: 8 

Prep time: 15 minutes / Cook time: 30 minutes  / Total time: 45 minutes 

Ingredients 

• 3 russet potatoes medium-sized, scrubbed clean 
• 1/2 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour 
• 1 tsp smoked paprika & 3/4 tsp ancho chile powder 
• 1 tsp kosher salt 
• 1 chorizo sausage, casing removed and crumbled 
• 16 Spring Creek quail eggs 
• 1 jalapeño, sliced thin 
• Cilantro for garnish 

Method: 

1. Preheat your oven to 400ºF and grease a muffin tin with oil. Place the muffin tin in the oven  while it preheats and you prepare the potatoes. 
2. Shred your potatoes in a food processor or on a box grater. 
3. Place the shredded potatoes in a clean dish towel and drain the potato to remove the  water. There is a lot of water, so be sure to really wring out the towel to get the shredded  potato nice and dry. 
4. Once your potato is nice and dry, add it to a large bowl. Add the flour, spices and salt and  mix. 
5. Take out your muffin tin. Use your hands to form a nest and then place it in the muffin tin.  Press down in the center a little so you’ll have room for the eggs later. Bake for 18 to 20  minutes, until browned a little and starting to get crispy. 
6. While the potatoes are baking, heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add a splash of oil  to the pan. Add the crumbled chorizo and let it cook undisturbed for three to five minutes,  until crispy. Then flip and continue cooking until browned, cooked through and no longer  pink. 
7. Remove the muffin tin from the oven. Add a small bit of the crumbled chorizo to the egg  nests. Use a serrated knife to crack open the quail eggs and add these to the potato nests.  Place back in the oven to bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks  are still a little runny. 
8. Remove the muffin tin and add more chorizo on top, followed by the sliced jalapeño and  cilantro.

Peppermint One Bite Brownies  – Yields: 24 brownies 

Prep time: 30 minutes / Cook time: 15 minutes  / Total time: 45 minutes 

Ingredients: 

Eggnog: 

• 1 cup sugar 
• 1/2cup water 
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed at room temperature 
• 1/2 cup eggnog, room temperature 
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg 
• 1/4 tsp salt 

Brownies: 

• Cocoa powder for dusting 
• 1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate 
• 1 cup butter, cubbed + extra for greasing muffin tins 
• 1 cup sugar 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 12 quail eggs 
• 1 tbsp +1/2 tsp flour 
• 1 tsp peppermint extract  

Method: 

CARAMEL: 

1. In a pot, place sugar and pour water on top making sure the water covers the  sugar.  
2. Heat sugar mixture over medium-high heat, do not stir. 
3. Allow sugar to come to a deep amber colour about 7-9 minutes. 
4. Quickly remove pot from heat, and carefully whisk in butter and then the cream.  5. Stir in salt and nutmeg 
5. Transfer caramel to a heat proof container and let cool. 
6. Can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.  

Brownies: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 162C/325F 
2. Grease mini muffin tins with butter and dust well with cocoa powder, set aside. 3. Bring a pot of water to a simmer. 
3. In a heat proof bowl place chocolate and butter place over pot of water.  
4. Once chocolate and butter are melted, remove from heat and whisk in sugar. 
5. Add quail eggs one a time and whisk well until each addition is well incorporated.  7. At this point, sift in flour and salt and fold them in making sure not to over mix.
6. Pour batter into muffin tins and bake in oven for 5-8 minutes, rotating half way. 9. Once ready and a toothpick comes out clean, remove brownies from tins 
7. Let cook before removing from tins.  
8. Serve on plate with eggnog caramel, maybe some vanilla ice cream and enjoy!