Lentil and goat’s cheese salad with pickled quail

SERVES 4–6

“I love to use fresh goat’s curd in this salad, as it almost acts like a thick dressing, coating the lentils,” says Warren. Start this recipe a day ahead to pickle the quail.

4 pickled quail (see above)

300 gm dried French-style green lentils, rinsed

1 fresh bay leaf 2 thyme sprigs

60 ml (1/4 cup) extra-virgin olive oil

½ bunch rainbow silverbeet, stalks finely chopped, leaves thinly sliced 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1½ tsp Dijon mustard

Juice of ½ lemon

2 tsp sherry or red wine vinegar

½ red onion, finely diced

2 tbsp chopped mint leaves, plus extra leaves to serve 120 gm goat’s curd or feta

1 Bring pickled quail to room temperature. 2 Place lentils, bay leaf and thyme in a large saucepan. Cover with three times the volume of cold water as the lentils, then bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until lentils are just tender but not falling apart (20-30 minutes). Remove from the heat and transfer lentils and cooking liquid to a baking dish to cool slightly. (If lentils are really tender, drain straight away; rinse lentils under cold water if they are already starting to fall apart).

3 Meanwhile, heat half the oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add silverbeet stalks and garlic and sauté (3-4 minutes). Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add silverbeet leaves and sauté until just wilted

(1-2 minutes). Add to the plate and season to taste.

4 In a bowl, combine mustard, lemon juice, vinegar and remaining oil. Season to taste. 5 Once lentils have cooled slightly, drain and transfer to a large bowl. Toss through mustard dressing while lentils are still warm. Set aside to cool, then mix through silverbeet, onion and mint.

6 Divide lentils among bowls, then top with pickled quail, goat’s curd and mint leaves. Drizzle over some of the quail pickling liquid and a few extra vegetables from the pickled quail, if you like, and serve.