This is an easy to make complete meal where you serve the quail and onions together, then the strained broth with thin pasta in another bowl. Great for Sunday supper or a date night.
2tablespoonswhite wine, sherry or champagne vinegar
Stems from a bunch of parsley
1stalkcelery,cut into large pieces
1sprigfresh thyme
1poundangel hair pasta
smoked paprika,to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large, lidded pot like a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When it's hot, sauté the onions until they just start to brown a little. Stir in the garlic and cook another minute.
Add the quail, stock, vinegar, parsley stems, celery stalk, and thyme and bring to a simmer. Add salt to taste. Cover the pot and simmer very gently until the quail are tender, about 1 to 2 hours depending on whether the quail are farmed or wild.
While that's happening, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. This is your pasta water, and you want this ready when the quail are.
When the quail are tender, gently move them from the pot to a plate to rest. Strain the broth into another pot, or a bowl (then wipe out the original pot), and fish out the thyme, celery and parsley stems.
Cook the angel hair pasta in the salted water for a minute or three, then move some to each person's bowl. Pour the broth over, and, if you want, chop the leaves from the parsley as a garnish.
Serve the quails on the onions, topped with paprika and black pepper. If they've cooled too much, pour just a little of the hot broth over them before adding the pepper and paprika.