(almost) too cute to eat

I don’t usually get carried away by cute (unless it involved kittens…) but I got involved in a discussion about quail eggs recently and it got me to thinking.

The only way I’ve seen them served at a restaurant is as a raw yolk on top of sushi. I like them that way, but that wasn’t something I was going to try at home. This, however, seemed a reasonable “do-at-home” idea.

Astonishingly, it went exactly as I imagined it!

These bites could be an appetizer, or perhaps something to serve as part of a brunch. They’re awfully cute and mighty tasty, and as is often the case with dishes I propose, you can customize as you like!

All I did was get the quail eggs, some mushrooms, a bit of garlic, and, of course, some olive oil. I took the stems out of the caps and set them aside. Then I sauteed the caps in olive oil.

I chopped up the mushroom stems with about 1/2 clove of garlic. I took the caps out of the skillet, added a small spoonful of the chopped filling, made a nice little indentation in each one, and carefully (they’re fragile after all) opened the quail eggs**. I set one quail egg in each. I carefully returned the caps to the skillet, turned down the heat, covered the whole thing and let them cook for about 4 minutes until the whites are well set.

I guess I’ll let the photos do the talking.

tiny but mighty

gently, gently…

almost there…

The only other thing I can suggest is perhaps a bit of chopped parsley or cilantro or chives or even scallion on top if you like. If I were a downtown restaurant I’d probably make some sort of colorful sauce to dress the plate, but I’m not so I didn’t.

**And, the only advice I can add is, don’t try to crack these like chicken eggs. They’re far too fragile. Just hold them carefully (firmly but gently) and use a sharp serrated knife to take the top off. Yes, really!

If you do decide to try this, let us know how it works for you. Mmmmm… and have fun!

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