Ingredients
8 quail
3 oz (75 grams) sliced pancetta, preferably smoked
16 fresh vine leaves or 1 x 227 grams pack preserved vine leaves in brine
A little olive oil
Salt and freshly milled black pepper
For the grape sauce
175 grams red or black seedless grapes, halved
1 level teaspoon golden granulated sugar
3 tablespoons red wine
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Pre-heat the oven 220 C
Method
1. First of all make the grape sauce by dissolving the sugar in the wine and wine vinegar, then add the grapes and let them simmer very gently, without a lid, for 40 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced to a syrup
2. If you are using fresh vine leaves, blanch them by dipping them in boiling water for a few seconds until they go limp, then pat them dry and remove the stalks
3. If you have preserved vine leaves, rinse them under drain
4. Wipe the quail with kitchen paper; rub them with olive oil and season
5. Next, cover the breasts with the pancetta, dividing it equally between them
6. Sit each quail on a vine leaf, with the legs pointing towards the stalk end, and wrap the leaf up each side, then put another leaf over the breast and tuck it in underneath the quail
7. Tie each quail with a piece of string to keep the leaves in place, then lay them on the baking tray and cook on a high shelf of the oven for 15 minutes
8. Take them out, untie the string and, holding the quail in a cloth, unpeel the top leaf (leaving the second leaf and pancetta intact). Now return the quail to the oven to brown and crisp, which will take another 15 minutes
9. When you’ve removed them from the oven, let them rest for about 10 minutes before serving with the grape sauce
