Name: Southern-fried quail with blue cheese dressing
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 6 min
Total time: 16 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 100ml buttermilk; ¼ tsp ground cumin; 3 quails split in half through the middle so you have six halves; sunflower oil for deep-frying; celery leaves to serve (optional); 4 tbsp mayonnaise; 4 tbsp buttermilk; 40g soft blue cheese crumbled; pinch celery salt; 250g plain flour; ½ tsp cayenne pepper; ½ tsp onion salt; ¼ tsp dried oregano; ¼ tsp chilli flakes

100ml buttermilk
¼ tsp ground cumin
3 quails
split in half through the middle so you have six halves
sunflower oil
for deep-frying
celery leaves
to serve (optional)

For the dressing

4 tbsp mayonnaise
4 tbsp buttermilk
40g soft blue cheese
crumbled
pinch celery salt

For the spiced flour

250g plain flour
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp onion salt
¼ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp chilli flakes

Method

step 1
Mix the 100ml buttermilk, cumin and a large pinch of salt together in a bowl. Put the quail halves in the buttermilk mix so they are completely covered, then chill for at least 6 hrs or overnight.
step 2
To make the dressing, beat the mayonnaise, buttermilk, cheese and celery salt together – don’t worry if it’s not totally smooth. Keep chilled.
step 3
When ready to cook, mix all the spiced flour ingredients together. Heat a deep-fat fryer or a deep pan with sunflower oil to 175C. Remove the quail from the fridge, then dip each half in the spiced our and carefully drop them in the fryer.
step 4
Fry for about 6 mins until golden and crisp, then drain on kitchen paper and leave to rest for 2 mins or so. Pile onto a large serving plate, put the blue cheese sauce on the side for dipping, and scatter over the celery leaves, if you like.