Autumn menu four

Late autumn

By: Annie Smithers
From: Annie's Farmhouse Kitchen
Serves: 8
Photographer: Patricia Niven; Illustrations: Robin Cowcher

Stuffed quail wrapped in prosciutto with baked figs

Navarin of lamb

Roasted quince with spiced quince cake & whipped ricotta

Stuffed quail wrapped in prosciutto with baked figs

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
8	jumbo quail
4 slices	stale ciabatta, cut into 5 mm cubes
100g	roquefort or other strong blue cheese, crumbled
2	sage leaves, chopped
8 slices	prosciutto
500ml	milk
8	figs
	olive oil, for drizzling
100g	rocket leaves or other sharp salad leaves
	salt flakes
	freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Bone the quail, leaving the first wing bone and drumstick bones in. (If you’re not comfortable doing this, ask your butcher to do it for you.)
Put the ciabatta cubes, Roquefort and sage in a bowl and mush it up with your hands to combine.
Lay all the birds on the bench, skin side down, and divide the stuffing evenly among them. Re-form the birds and then wrap each one in a slice of prosciutto. Place in a baking dish that is large enough to hold the birds snugly in a single layer, then pour enough milk into the dish to come halfway up the side of the birds.
Place in the oven and roast for 10–15 minutes or until the birds are cooked – check by squeezing the leg meat to see if it’s cooked through. The meat should push away easily from the bone. The tips should have a nice crispness and colour from the prosciutto. Once you’ve put the quail in the oven, cut the figs in half and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with a little olive oil and roast for about 7 minutes.
For each plate, lift the quail from the dish and place on a bed of greens. Prop half a roasted fig on each side, season to taste and serve.

Navarin of lamb

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
100ml	grapeseed or olive oil
150g	unsalted butter
2kg	boned lamb neck or shoulder, cut into 5 cm cubes
200g	onions, diced
200g	carrots, diced
1 tablespoon	plain flour
250ml	dry white wine
4	tomatoes, diced
1	turnip, peeled and diced
1	rosemary sprig
1	thyme sprig
1	bay leaf
4	garlic cloves, roughly chopped
750ml	Veal Stock
or 750ml	Chicken stock
	salt flakes
	freshly ground black pepper
250g	french shallots, trimmed and peeled
1 teaspoon	granulated sugar
1kg	new, small nicola or kipfler potatoes
300g	baby carrots, peeled
300g	baby turnips, peeled
80g	peas
	crusty bread, to serve
	Mashed potato, to serve (optional)
or	see method for ingredients, to serve (optional)

Method

Heat the oil and a large knob of butter in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium–high heat. Add the lamb and cook until browned all over – you might need to do this in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan. Transfer the lamb to a plate.
Add the onion, carrot and a little more butter to the pan and cook, stirring, over a medium heat for 5 minutes or until softened. Drain off any excess fat, then add the flour and stir over the heat for 1 minute. Return the lamb to the pan, then pour in the wine and simmer until slightly reduced. Add the tomato, turnip, herbs and garlic, and enough stock to come three-quarters of the way up the lamb.
Season well, then cover with a lid and simmer for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat, add the shallots, sugar and some salt and cook, stirring, until lightly browned. Add a little stock or water and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 10–15 minutes or until soft.
Put the potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then drain.
Remove the lamb from the pan, then strain the sauce through a fine sieve. Let the sauce settle so you can carefully skim the fat from the top. Return the sauce, lamb and potatoes to the pan and simmer, covered, for another 15 minutes.
Add the baby carrots and turnips and simmer for 10–15 minutes or until tender. Add the peas for the last 5 minutes.
Serve with good crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

Roasted quince with spiced quince cake & whipped ricotta

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient

Roasted quince

Quantity	Ingredient
1kg	granulated sugar
1	vanilla bean, split lengthways and seeds scraped
1	cinnamon stick
12	quinces, peeled and halved

Spiced quince cake

Quantity	Ingredient
250g	self-raising flour
2 1/2 teaspoons	quatre epices
1 level teaspoon	baking powder
pinch	salt flakes
200g	golden syrup or maple syrup
2 tablespoons	quince syrup, (from roasting the quinces)
125g	unsalted butter
100g	diced roasted quince
125g	dark brown sugar
2	large eggs
240ml	milk

Whipped ricotta

Quantity	Ingredient
250g	fresh ricotta
1 tablespoon	golden caster sugar or to taste
2 tablespoons	pouring cream
	finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
	finely grated zest of 1/2 orange

Method

Preheat the oven to 120°C.
To make the roasted quince, put the sugar, 1 litre (34 floz) of water and spices in a large saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Place the quince halves, cut side up, in a baking dish large enough to fit them snugly in a single layer. Pour the sugar syrup over the top. If you don’t have enough syrup to cover the quinces, make a little more using equal quantities of sugar and water. Cover with a sheet of baking paper and then seal the baking dish with foil. Roast for at least 6 hours or until the quinces are dark purple and tender.
If you’re not using them immediately, the quinces can be kept in their cooking syrup in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. Before you use them, remove the core with a teaspoon.
To make the spiced quince cake, preheat the oven to 180°C and line the base of a 20–22 cm square cake tin with baking paper.
Sift the flour, spices and baking powder into a large bowl and add the salt. Put the golden syrup, quince syrup and butter in a small saucepan and warm over a low heat. Add the diced quince and sugar and let the mixture bubble gently for a minute, giving it the occasional stir to stop the fruit sticking to the bottom.
Break the eggs into a bowl, pour in the milk and beat gently to break up the egg and mix it into the milk. Remove the butter and sugar mixture from the heat and pour into the flour, stirring firmly with a large metal spoon. Mix in the milk and eggs. The mixture should be sloppy, with no traces of flour.
Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 35–40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then invert onto a sheet of baking paper laid on a wire rack. The cake may be served warm or kept in an airtight container and served at room temperature. It will keep well for up to 5 days.
To make the whipped ricotta, place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until stiff and well combined. Taste before serving – you can vary the amount of sugar to suit your personal taste.
To assemble the dessert, I cut a long thin piece of cake, prop half a warmed quince up against it and then place a quenelle of the whipped ricotta on one end of the cake.

Timeline

The day before

Bone, stuff and wrap the quail. Roast the quince (this can be done overnight if your oven has a timer function to turn itself off), then refrigerate.

The day of serving

Prepare and cook the lamb and all the vegetables except the peas about 3 hours before serving, then set aside at room temperature. Make the quince cake. Whip the ricotta and refrigerate. Remove the roasted quince from the refrigerator.

1–2 hours before serving

Prepare the salad leaves and figs for the quail dish.

To serve

Cook the quail. Plate and serve the quail, but start reheating the lamb on a low heat before leaving the kitchen. Add the peas and heat through. Serve the navarin of lamb. Plate and serve the quince dessert.