A Mallorcan recipe for stuffed quail wrapped in kale, slow-cooked and enhanced with rich flavours from the heart of the island.
(for 4 people)
Total time: 70 min
kcal per portion: 500 kcal
Difficulty:
Mallorcan Guàtleres Farcides is a clear example of the island's culinary genius: quails stuffed with traditional sausages such as sobrassada and botifarró, wrapped in kale leaves and cooked slowly in a traditional clay casserole pot. The result is a warm, tasty, deeply Mallorcan dish, where every mouthful whisks you away to the countryside, to rustic kitchens where lifelong recipes were born.
Main ingredients (for 4 people):
4 quails
4 large kale leaves
100 g pancetta
40 g sobrassada sausage
30 g botifarró sausage
30 g raisins
1 glass of red wine
1 cup of poultry stock
300 g baby potatoes
1 onion
6 Ramallet tomatoes
100 g flour
1 artichoke
200 ml olive oil
Salt and pepper
Step-by-step instructions:
Prepare the quails
Season the quails inside and out with salt and pepper.
Stuff each one with a pinch of sobrassada, a piece of botifarró, pancetta and three or four raisins.
Lightly flour and sear in a frying pan with oil until golden brown. Set aside.
Blanch the kale
Boil water in a pot and blanch the kale leaves.
Wrap each quail in a leaf, forming a small parcel.
The sofrito (sauce base)
In a clay casserole pot or shallow saucepan, prepare the sofrito by sautéing the onion, garlic and grated tomatoes.
Add the remaining raisins to the sofrito.
Cook the quails
Place the quail parcels on top of the sauce base.
Add the red wine and poultry stock.
Simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes.
Prepare the trimmings
Cut the potatoes in half, leaving the skin on, and boil. Then brown them in a frying pan with oil.
Cut the artichoke into very thin slices, roll in flour and fry in hot oil until crispy.
How to Best Enjoy Guàtleres Farcides:
This dish is perfect to enjoy in autumn or winter, when ingredients such as kale, potatoes and artichokes are at their peak. It is traditionally served as a main dish at celebrations or family meals, and has a deeper flavour if cooked in advance and left to rest for a few hours before serving.
Dish Variants:
With free-range chicken: replace the quails with boneless thighs.
Sweet touch: add a spoonful of honey to the sofrito to enhance the contrast with the sausages.
Baked finish: finish cooking by baking in the oven to lightly brown the kale leaves.
This recipe has been prepared by the chefs of the reputable Balearic School of Hospitality and Catering of the Balearic Islands.