Spinach and quail’s egg salad with sweet and sour dressing
Flavour explosion in your mouth
Ingredients
quail’s eggs 12
sourdough or ciabatta 2 slices, cubed into 2cm pieces
olive oil
salad or baby spinach 160g
red onion 1 small, sliced into rings
pancetta 4 slices, chopped
extra-virgin olive oil 5 tbsp
garlic 2 cloves, finely chopped
caster sugar 1 tbsp
cider vinegar 3 tbsp
lemon juice 2 tbsp
Steps
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/Gas 6. Simmer the quail’s eggs in boiling water for 21/2 minutes then run under cold water to cool. Spread the croutons onto a baking sheet. Drizzle over 1 tbsp of olive oil and season. Bake for 5 minutes or until golden and crisp, then cool.
To make the dressing, cook the pancetta without any oil in a small frying pan until crisp then drain on kitchen towel. Add the olive oil and garlic. Cook until lightly golden, then take off the heat and add the sugar, pancetta, vinegar, lemon juice and season. Put back on the heat and whisk together.
Arrange the spinach leaves in salad bowls. Peel and halve the eggs and add them to the salad along with the onion and croutons. Pour the warm dressing over the top and toss well.