Grilled quails with zhug and a cauliflower salad
Once the marinading is done, this zesty dish is super-quick to cook. If the weather's nice, you could cook the quails on the BBQ.
Ingredients
For the quails
- 100ml/3½fl oz olive oil
- 1 tbsp barbecue sauce
- 5 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 1 tomato, roughly chopped
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 small bunch coriander, roughly chopped
- 4 quails, spatchcocked (ask your butcher to do this for you)
- 100ml/3½fl oz lemon juice
For the zhug
- 1 bunch coriander, finely chopped
- 1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp honey
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- 50ml/2fl oz olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the cauliflower salad
- 1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
- light tahini
- 30ml/1fl oz pomegranate molasses
- 2 tbsp finely chopped flatleaf parsley, for garnish
Method
To make the quails, put all the marinade ingredients into a blender and blitz. Put the quails into a large, non-reactive bowl, cover with the marinade and rub into the meat. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight, to marinate.
Stir together the zhug ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper.
Preheat the grill to high. Transfer the quails to a baking tray or roasting tin and grill for 6–8 minutes, turning half way through, until cooked through with no trace of pink.
Meanwhile, to make the cauliflower salad, blanch the florets in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and refresh under cold water.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and shallow fry the florets until golden.
Transfer the cauliflower to a serving dish, drizzle with tahini and pomegranate molasses, and garnish with the parsley.
Pile the quails onto a serving dish and drizzle over the zhug. Serve with the cauliflower salad.