Chef Isabel
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Culinary Explorer
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Codornices Estofadas Navarras
Created by
Navarra's little birds are browned, then braised over a patient onion, carrot, and pepper sofrito with bay and dry white wine until the meat yields and the sauce shines.
Main Dishes
Spanish
Comfort Food
Weeknight
One Pot
20 min
Active Time
1 hr 25 min cook•1 hr 45 min total
Yield4 servings
Codornices estofadas navarras are Navarra's little-bird stew: quail browned, then settled into onion, carrot, green pepper, tomato, bay, and dry white wine. That vegetable-rich base, drawn from the huerta of the Ribera, gives this version its Navarrese surname. The sauce should be dark gold-brown and spoonable, and each leg should pull easily at the joint without the bird collapsing into threads.
The sofrito, the slow vegetable base, decides it. I cook the onion, carrot, and pepper low until the onion is dark gold and almost jammy, then cook the tomato until its water is gone and the oil shows again. That slow evaporation concentrates the vegetables' sweetness. Rush it and you get quail sitting in sharp, pale broth, which is a waste of a good bird.
Frozen farmed quail, thawed overnight in the refrigerator, are the honest substitute for hunted birds and the ones most cooks will find. They taste milder and become tender sooner, so begin checking them after 25 minutes. Any sound, dry unoaked white wine will serve in place of a Navarra wine. Dry amontillado diluted with water also works, though the sauce comes out darker and nuttier.
The line in my Margin is short: reduce the wine until it no longer smells raw. Do that, keep the braise gentle, and the rest is plain work. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Codornices estofadas belong to Navarra's country cooking, shaped by cereal fields where migratory common quail fed and were taken around the grain harvest. The onion, pepper, and tomato base points to the huerta of the Ribera, while wine from the same landscape supplied the braising liquid. Wild birds were lean and variable, so covered stewing tenderized them and stretched their juices into a sauce made for bread.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
whole farmed quail
Quantity
8, about 1.3kg total
fully dressed, giblets removed, and patted dry
fine sea salt
Quantity
10g
divided
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1g
plain flour
Quantity
20g
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
60ml
onion
Quantity
250g
finely diced
carrots
Quantity
150g
cut into 5mm dice
green frying pepper
Quantity
120g
seeded and finely diced
garlic
Quantity
12g
finely chopped
ripe tomato or canned whole tomato
Quantity
150g
grated or crushed
dry unoaked white wine
Quantity
200ml
light unsalted chicken stock or water
Quantity
350ml
bay leaves
Quantity
2
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| whole farmed quailfully dressed, giblets removed, and patted dry | 8, about 1.3kg total |
| fine sea saltdivided | 10g |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1g |
| plain flour | 20g |
| extra virgin olive oil | 60ml |
| onionfinely diced | 250g |
| carrotscut into 5mm dice | 150g |
| green frying pepperseeded and finely diced | 120g |
| garlicfinely chopped | 12g |
| ripe tomato or canned whole tomatograted or crushed | 150g |
| dry unoaked white wine | 200ml |
| light unsalted chicken stock or water | 350ml |
| bay leaves | 2 |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide heavy casserole with lid, 30 to 32cm
- •Kitchen tongs
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Fine grater for the tomato
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the quail
Check the cavities for any remaining giblets or loose feathers, then pat the quail very dry with kitchen paper. Do not rinse raw poultry. Season inside and out with 8g of the salt and all the pepper. Dust each bird lightly with the flour and shake off every loose patch; a thin coat helps the quail brown and gives the sauce a little body without making it pasty.
Take previously frozen quail from the freezer the night before and thaw them on a covered plate in the refrigerator. Cook them within 24 hours of thawing. - 2
Brown in batches
Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy casserole over medium-high heat. Brown the quail in two batches so the pan stays hot, about 3 minutes on the breast and 2 minutes on each side. You want a deep golden surface, not cooked meat. Transfer each browned batch to a plate and lower the heat to medium-low.
- 3
Build the sofrito
Add the onion, carrot, green pepper, and remaining 2g salt to the same oil. Scrape up the browned residue and cook gently for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the onion is dark gold, the carrot is tender, and almost no moisture remains. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato and cook for another 8 minutes, until it turns thick and the oil begins to show around the edges. This is the sofrito, and this is the part you don't hurry.
If the vegetables catch before they soften, add 15ml water and lower the heat. Extra oil will only make the finished sauce greasy. - 4
Reduce the wine
Raise the heat to medium-high and pour in the white wine. Scrape the base of the casserole, then boil for 4 to 5 minutes, until the liquid has reduced by roughly two-thirds and smells fruity rather than raw. Add the stock and bay leaves and bring everything to a gentle simmer.
- 5
Braise very gently
Return the quail to the casserole breast-side up, fitting them in one snug layer. The liquid should reach roughly halfway up the birds. Cover, lower the heat, and maintain only a faint bubble for 25 minutes. Check the thickest thigh without touching bone: it must reach at least 74°C, and the leg joint should move easily. If it still resists, cover and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
A genuinely wild quail is leaner and less predictable than a farmed one. Keep the heat low and allow 10 to 15 minutes more if the leg joint remains firm. - 6
Finish the sauce
Transfer the tender quail to a warm plate and discard the bay leaves. Boil the sauce uncovered for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until it coats the back of a spoon but still flows. Taste and correct the salt. Return the birds to the casserole, spoon the sauce over them, and warm gently for 2 minutes. Rest off the heat for 5 minutes, then serve two quail per person with plenty of the vegetables and sauce.
Chef Tips
- •Buy plump farmed quail weighing about 160 to 180g each. Frozen birds are perfectly sound if thawed slowly in the refrigerator. Very small quail cook quickly and give you more bone than supper.
- •A long green frying pepper is the usual choice. If you can only find green bell pepper, use the same weight, dice it finely, and cook it about 5 minutes longer; its flesh is thicker and its flavour a little more grassy.
- •Use grated ripe tomato when the market has a good one. In winter, canned whole tomato is the sensible choice for this cooked sauce and gives better flavour than a hard, pale fresh tomato.
- •For a sherry version, replace the 200ml white wine with 150ml dry amontillado and 50ml water. The sauce will be darker, nuttier, and a little less fresh. Don't use sweet sherry or salted cooking wine.
- •Quail have many fine bones, so serve the birds whole and eat them carefully. Bread belongs beside this casserole because leaving the sauce behind would be poor housekeeping.
- •Drink the same dry white wine used in the pot, or a young Navarra Garnacha if you want red. Choose one with bright fruit and little oak so it doesn't bully the small birds.
Advance Preparation
- •Dice the onion, carrot, and pepper up to 24 hours ahead. Keep them together in a covered container in the refrigerator, with the garlic and tomato stored separately.
- •The finished stew can be made one day ahead. Cool it within 2 hours, cover, and refrigerate. Reheat the quail gently in their sauce for 10 to 12 minutes, until the centre of a thigh reaches 74°C.
- •Leftovers keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Warm them covered over low heat with 30ml water if the sauce has thickened.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 400g)
Calories
625 calories
Total Fat
41 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
26 g
Cholesterol
170 mg
Sodium
1180 mg
Total Carbohydrates
19 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
7 g
Protein
46 g
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