Pear, Quail, Walnut and Stilton Salad

Pear, Quail, Walnut and Stilton Salad

Blue cheese Gnocchi

250g Desiree potatoes, peeled

50g strong flour

30g semolina + extra for dusting

75g crumbed mature Stilton cheese

1 small free-range egg

Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 100°C.

Peel and roughly dice the potatoes. Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft, drain the potatoes, lay them on a oven tray and dry the potatoes in the preheated oven for 10 – 20 minutes to remove any excess water.

Place the flour and semolina in the thermomix and blend for 30 seconds on speed 10.

While the potatoes are still warm pass the potatoes through a food mill with the crumbed Stilton, milled flour and seasoning. Mix in the egg and rest the gnocchi mixture in the fridge for 1 hour.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil.

Lightly dust a clean work surface with semolina, divide the gnocchi mixture in to 6 even size balls, then roll each ball into thin long sausages with the diameter of 20 pence piece, cut each piece in 1.5cm long pillows, use a fork and mark the one side of the gnocchi.

Blanch the gnocchi in salted rapid boiling water for 2 minutes, or until they float, transfer them with a slotted spoon to an ice water bath to cool them rapidly.

Drain the gnocchi and toss with olive oil, keep them refrigerated until needed.

Quail Sausage

4 quails legs

2 slices of lemon

1 sprig of thyme

60g chicken breast meat

70ml double cream

Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1tbs chopped watercress

50g morel mushrooms

1tsp unsalted butter

6 slices of pancetta

Few drops of fresh lemon juice

Preheat the water bath to 68°C.

Season the quail’s legs with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Place the quail’s legs in a vacuum bag with the slices of lemon and sprig of thyme. Seal on hard vacuum.

Cook for 50 minutes in the preheated water bath. Once cooked, cool in ice water.

Flake the quail leg meat from the bones and remove the skin.

Sauté the morel mushroom in the teaspoon of butter until golden, drain on kitchen paper and rough chop the mushrooms.

Place the chicken breast meat in the thermomix bowl, blend for 30 seconds on speed 10, scrape the sides down and repeat the process until the chicken meat is smooth. Pass the chicken puree through a fine sieve to remove the connective tissue.

Transfer the chicken puree to a small bowl, season and then whip in the cream bits at a time. Do not overwork the mousse.

Fold the flaked quail meat, chopped watercress and chopped sautéed morel mushrooms into the chicken mousse and season to taste. Transfer the mixture to a disposable piping bag.

Lay a double layer of clingfilm on the work surface.

Cut the pancetta slices in half and lay the pancetta slices onto the clingfilm to form a long rectangle.

Cut the piping bag, make a large opening about the size of 20pence size, and pipe the mixture onto the pancetta slices. Roll the pancetta up to form a sausage with the help of the clingfilm.

Secure the openings of the clingfilm.

Poach the sausage in the preheated water bath at 68°C for 20 minutes and cool the sausages over ice. Reshape and roll the sausage up in clean clingfilm once chilled to secure the round shape.

Place in the fridge to set.

Quail Breast

2 small quails, crowns only

25g unsalted butter

2 slices of lemon

2 sprigs of thyme

Preheat the water bath to 68°C.

Clean the quails and pat them dry with kitchen paper.

Heat a non-stick frying pan; Season the quail crowns and sauté in the warm pan with the butter until golden brown all over.

Place the browned quail crowns in two separate small vacuum bags with one slice of lemon and one sprig of thyme per bag. Seal on hard vacuum and cook the quail crowns for 20 minutes in the preheated water bath.

Chill the quail crowns in ice water, until completely cold.

Once chilled remove the crowns from the bags, remove the breast from the carcass, drain on kitchen paper, and set aside till ready to serve.

Pickled Walnut Salt Encrusted Quails Eggs

4 quails eggs

1 pickled walnut, drained

1tbs Maldon Sea salt

Bring a small saucepan with water to the boil, add the quails eggs and soft boil for 2 minutes and 30 seconds, cool and peel the eggs.

Finely chop the pickled walnut, lay the chopped walnut on a tray and let it dry out. Add the salt and then return the dried chopped walnut and salt to the chopping board and chop until very fine.