Festive Quail with Couscous

Ingredients

• 4 quail (ready to cook)
• Salt
• Pepper (freshly ground)
• vegetable oil (for the roasting pan)
• 200 g instant couscous
• 1 pinch of ground saffron
• 1 tsp Indian curry powder
• 400 ml Vegetable broth
• 2 pomegranates
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp dark balsamic vinegar
• gold leaf (for decoration)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat oven to 200°C with upper and lower heat. Wash quail inside and out, season with salt and pepper, tie with kitchen twine. Place breast side down in an oiled roasting pan and roast for 35-40 minutes. Flip quail halfway through and occasionally baste with the pan juices.

2. 2.

   Meanwhile, mix couscous with saffron and curry in a bowl. Bring broth to a boil, pour over couscous, let it absorb for about 10 minutes while loosening with a fork every now and then. Halve pomegranates and carefully remove seeds with a teaspoon (beware of splatter).

3. 3.

   Stir honey with balsamic vinegar and brush quail in the last 5 minutes of roasting. Season couscous with salt and pepper, mix in pomegranate seeds, plate, top each serving with a quail. Garnish with gold leaf and serve.