21's Quail Salad

This is my favorite dish with quail. The recipe comes from Restaurant 21 in NYC, and was published in Gourmet magazine. I have been making this special salad for years and it never fails to impress! It only takes about 30 minutes to prep but really needs at least three hours to marinade.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• Marinade

• 1⁄2 cup  fresh orange juice
• 1  lemon, quartered
• 2  bay leaves
• 1  teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
• 1  teaspoon  juniper berries, crushed
• 2  tablespoons molasses
• 2  dried small chilies (each about 1 inch long) or 1⁄2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
• 2  garlic cloves, crushed
• 8  quail (try boneless)

• Dressing

• 3  tablespoons  tarragon white wine vinegar
• 1  tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2  navel oranges, peel and pith cut away and sections cut free from membranes
• 1  mango, peeled, pitted, and sliced
• 1⁄2 cup  pepitas, toasted lightly (hulled green pumpkin seeds)
• 2  cups  packed mesclun, washed and spun dry (mixed baby greens)

Directions

1. Preparation.
2. Make marinade:.
3. In a bowl or baking dish stir together marinade ingredients until combined.
4. Add quail, turning to coat. Marinate quail, covered and chilled, turning occasionally, at least 3 hours or overnight.
5. Make dressing:.
6. In a bowl whisk together vinegar and mustard and add oil in a stream, whisking until emulsified. Add orange sections, mango, and pepitas. Chill dressing, covered, about 3 hours to blend flavors.
7. Prepare grill.
8. Grill quail in batches on an oiled rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals 5 minutes on each side, or until juices run clear when fleshy part of a thigh is pierced. (Alternatively, cook quail in batches in a cast-iron skillet over moderate heat, turning frequently to avoid burning, about 10 minutes.) Let quail stand 3 minutes.
9. Toss mesclun with dressing and divide among 4 plates. Top each salad with 2 quail.