4 thick rashers of higher-welfare smoked streaky bacon
runny honey
balsamic vinegar
4 large handfuls of winter greens, such as Swiss chard or cavolo nero
extra virgin olive oil
½ a lemon
3 tablespoons Greek yoghurt or crème fraîche
Description
Preheat the oven to full whack.
Trim, peel and cut the celeriac into 2cm cubes. Cook in a casserole pan on a medium heat with a knob of butter, thyme leaves, a lug of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
Leave the lid on and cook slowly for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes.
Cut each sausage into 4 equal pieces, then place on a large platter or board with the quail and bay leaves.
Slice the sourdough into 2cm cubes, peel and halve the garlic, then core and cut the pear into 8 wedges. Add to the platter.
Remove the leaves from the rosemary sprigs, but leave the tops intact. Sharpen the bare ends of the sprigs with a knife.
Finely chop the picked leaves and sprinkle over the meat, along with a few gratings of nutmeg. Drizzle olive oil over everything and season well.
Take a skewer, put a quail leg on first, then a wedge of pear, a bay leaf, a piece of sausage, bread, quail breast, garlic, and so on, in any order you fancy, until they are all stacked up. Try to put the quail legs and thighs at the end so they get more heat, and breasts in the middle and make sure you don’t jam things on so tightly that the heat can’t circulate.
Halve the bacon rashers and wrap them around the skewers wherever you like.
Cover the leafy skewer tops with tin foil to keep them from burning. Lay in a roasting tray and put in the oven; turn it down to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden and cooked through, turning and glazing with a little honey and balsamic halfway. During the last 10 minutes, glaze them often to build up a sticky crust.
Boil the greens for 3 to 4 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain and toss in the pan with a knob of butter, extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Taste the celeriac for seasoning, then divide between the plates with the greens. Put a skewer on each plate, then add yoghurt or crème fraîche to the pan they were cooked in. Scrape the bottom of the pan to pick up all the flavours. Drizzle the pan juices over each plate and dig in.
