Quail & Egg on Creamed Spinach

Here is my photo of the Cornish Game Hen (carved by me!) version on Creamed Spinach with Herb Infused Olive Oil, topped with a Fried, Soft Boiled EggThis is one of my favorite recipes. It looks much harder than it is. When you break it down into parts it becomes a lot easier to tackle. The original recipe can be found here. It is by Chef Chuck Hughes. I saw him make this and thought it looked like a moderate challenge.

My Edits

1. Substituted Quail with Cornish Game Hen. Only added a minute or two to the oven time due to the increased size of the bird.
2. Substituted Quail Egg with Regular Egg & increased the time to "soft boil" by less than 1 minute.

Tips

Fried, Soft Boiled Eggs
This was the hardest part of the entire meal. Practice this step a few times before attempting the entire meal. Time the boiling process each time you practice so you can perfect it. Be sure to put the egg into an ice bath to stop the cooking. Don't leave it in hot water, or it will hard boil. Peal the egg CAREFULLY once it is cooled. When you cook the entire meal, cook 2 extra eggs per 4 or 5 that you need. They can bust easily. Don't over fry them! Just get the outside crispy and do this RIGHT before you serve them for the best results. You want the middle runny. As you serve them, slice the side open and let the yolk bring all the flavors together! 

Herb infused Oil Garnish
The first time you make the meal, do this second, right after or as you prep the eggs. As you start cooking, things begin to move quickly and you run the risk of forgetting all together. When you have done this meal at least once, you can create this garnish quickly while your bird is browning.

Creamed Spinach
It is important that you remove all of the moisture from the spinach leaves after cooking them. Put the leaves in a bowl, take another bowl and stack it on top. Squeeze over the sink until the moisture is gone! This tip is straight from Chef Chuck! It works GREAT!

Here is the recipe information from Chef Chuck Hughes with a few of my notes. Feel free to ask me questions as they come up! You can find me on twitter @RayZorback

Recipe

Total Time: 1 hr 25 min (but I beat that pretty easily the 3rd time)

Prep: 45 min

Inactive Prep: 15 min

Cook: 25 min

Level: Intermediate

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Eggs

• 4 eggs (+2 extra if you serve 4 - incase one breaks open)
• Flour, for dredging
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs (flavored bread crumbs are ok, but try to match it with spinach, garlic, & challots so the profiles match up with the rest of your meal)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Quail

• 4 quails (or 2 Cornish Game Hens)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon canola oil

Herb Infused Oil Garnish

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 clove garlic, minced - (make sure it is fresh & mash it before mincing to release the oils)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Creamed Spinach

• 2 pounds/1 kg fresh spinach, washed and tough stems removed
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 shallot, chopped - (you CAN use a red onion here instead, but use about 1/4th of a large. It DOES taste better with shalltos!)
• 1 clove garlic, minced - (make sure it is fresh & mash it before mincing to release the oils)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions (keep the tips above in mind!)

For the eggs

Cook the eggs in boiling water about 5 minutes for a soft-boiled egg. Drain and cool the eggs in icy cold water, and then remove the shell.

Put the flour in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Put the bread crumbs in a separate bowl and the beaten eggs in a third bowl.

Take the eggs and coat them in the flour mixture, then the beaten eggs, and finally the bread crumbs. Keep them in the refrigerator until ready to fry.

For the quails

Using a sharp knife, slice straight down the breastbone of the quail to open the breast cavity. Remove the rib cage so you have a boneless breast attached to the bone-in legs and wings. Cook's Note: If the breast breaks away from the legs, which can happen with such a small bird, cook each portion separately. Alternately, you can ask your butcher to de-bone the quails for you.

For the herb garnish

Mix the parsley, basil, thyme, garlic, and olive oil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. 

Back on the bird

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.

Season the quails with salt and pepper. In a large oven-proof saucepan, heat the canola oil on high heat and grill the quails in canola oil on all sides until brown. Finish cooking them in the oven for approximately 8 minutes. Keep the quails warm on a separate plate.

For the creamed spinach

Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the spinach and cook for 15 seconds. Drain in a fine mesh strainer, pressing with a large spoon to release as much water as possible.

In a small saucepan, heat the cream to a simmer and let it reduce by half, for about 10 minutes. Add the Dijon mustard and stir. Put aside.

Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic, stirring until soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, just until the liquid is released. Add the reduced cream mixture, season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and keep warm.

Lastly, finish the Fried, Soft Boiled Egg!

Using a deep fryer, heat the oil to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C. Fry the eggs for about 1 minute, or just until the crust is lightly brown.

For serving

Plate each portion with creamed spinach topped with a quail and garnished with the herb mixture. Finish the plate with the fried egg cut in half.