Quail is another one of those foods we’ve largely gotten away from eating. And I’m not sure why. They’re quite tasty and make a great alternative to chicken, especially if you get sick of chicken.
If you’ve never made quail before, and you’re not sure how to go about cooking it, don’t worry because it’s super easy. All you have to do for this recipe is season it and throw it in the oven and you’re done! And because they’re so small, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the cook time. It’s a perfect dish for a weeknight meal.
It’s the Paleo rice in this recipe that takes some work, but even that won’t take you long, especially if you have a food processor to rice your cauliflower.
Quail is not a very large bird, so about two will feed one person. If you’re cooking this just for yourself, you can always keep leftovers for another meal, or double or triple the recipe as needed if you’re cooking for a crowd.
Like chicken, quail is high in protein, however it has a better micronutrient profile than chicken. It contains a significant amount of vitamin B6 and iron. Like chicken, quail is also pretty low in fat, which is part of the reason I added olive oil to this recipe. The other reason is because olive oil is delicious and makes everything you add it to scrumptious.
Why is the Paleo Rice dirty?
Classic dirty rice is a traditional Creole dish made from white rice cooked with chicken liver or other giblets, vegetables and seasonings.
Although white rice is a non-offensive, starchy grain, I wanted to pair the quail with a vegetable side dish.
This dirty Paleo rice is dirty due to it’s yellow shade. By adding some spices like turmeric, salt and pepper this adds both color and flavor to the cauliflower, which is pretty much a blank slate waiting for you to liven it up.
A Special Occassion
If you’ve never made quail before you may find yourself preparing it for a special occasion such as a birthday, New Year’s Eve or Valentine’s Day. Regardless of when you prepare it, be sure to just have fun with it.
As soon as you prepare it once, you’ll find yourself coming back to prepare it again and again.
