Plan Quail

I first encountered Quail Eggs as part of a scotch egg recipe that was an appetiser at my cousin's wedding breakfast on a farm in the middle of the country in August Bank Holiday 2018. I had, since then, been seeking a local Quail Egg Dealer and recently found one so as to allow me to make my own recipe using these delicate, tiny yet rich eggs. 

I really planted my feet outside of my comfort zone by for the first time making Vol Au Vents to house the Quail Eggs in with some Smoked Salmon. 

On the player was Terrorvision's final and unjustly overlooked album "Good to Go" from 2001. Despite scoring a massive hit with their previous album "Shaving Peaches" and its flagship single "Josephine" , the band were dropped by their record label. That may be why "Good to Go" sounds so aggressive and direct. A point needed to be proved. It is certainly a focused record featuring powerful songs such as "Fists of Fury" "D'ya Wanna Go Faster" and "Goldmine Jamjar". 

A link to the album if you fancy a listen is at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kg4SKK1FMjGbUqTj0H5DKq5yveuqaz-Iw 

For this recipe you'll need the following:

For the filling:

5 Quail Eggs. 

1 Sheet of Smoked Salmon

For the pastry:

250 grams of Margarine.

250 grams of Plain Flour.

Half a cup of cold water.

Unsweetened Soya Milk to glaze.

The method for this recipe goes something like this.

1. Make the Vol Au Vents by sifting the flour through a sieve into a mixing bowl and combining together, using the rubbed in method, the Plain Flour and Margarine until the Margarine is in square pieces and chunky. 

2. Gradually add the water by stirring it in steadily. Then knead the ingredients together until a pliable dough, not dissimilar to cookie dough, is formed .

3. Place the dough in the fridge for twenty minutes.

4. Roll out into a square or rhombus.

5. Fold two thirds of the dough into the middle. Put the other third of the dough on top of this. Roll it out and repeat the process around ten times so as to create a layered pastry. 

6. Cut the bases of the Vol Au Vents by using a cake cutter to cut the amount of circles you need depending on how many Vol Au Vents you wish to make. 

7. Cut the tops of the Vol Au Vents from the remaining pastry and cut a hole in the middle of them and place them on top of the Vol Au Vent bases.

8. Put the Vol Au Vent cases on a greased baking tray and glaze with unsweetened Soya Milk.

9. Cook in the oven on Gas Mark Three for thirty minutes. 

10. Leave to cool and prepare the Quail Eggs.

12. Remove the Eggs from the shells and fry on a very low heat for around three to four minutes. Then place one in each Vol Au Vent with some small pieces of the Smoked Salmon. 

The first attempt at Vol Au Vent Pastry went quite well as the pastry was light and not too crisp. The richness of the Smoked Salmon was also enhanced by the full taste of the Quail Eggs that contained lots of goodness within their large yolks.