Deviled Quail Eggs with Caviar and Kataifi Bird’s Nests

Serving Size: 2 Dozen or 24 Pieces

Our Executive chef devised this recipe which takes inspiration from both nature (we sure do love our migratory birds) and Middle Eastern cuisine which makes use of crunchy strand-like phyllo dough known as kataifi (pronounced ka-ta-ee-fee). Here, we use quail eggs from Ashbourne Farms to make mini-deviled eggs which we place into a crunchy phyllo nest and top with caviar.

Special equipment: Pastry bag with a star tip

Ingredients
12 quail eggs rinsed in cold water
1 large organic chicken egg
1 Tablespoon Duke’s Mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Fine sea salt to taste
Dash or two of Louisiana hot sauce
1 ounce Kentucky Paddlefish or Sevruga caviar
8 small cut chives

To make the eggs
Make an ice water bath and set aside. Place quail eggs and chicken egg into a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. After 2 1/2 minutes, remove quail eggs and plunge directly into the water bath. Continue to boil the chicken egg for 6 more minutes, then move to ice bath. Cool eggs for 6-8 minutes. Peel eggs under cold water then cut in half lengthwise. Carefully remove yolks and place in food processor with mayonnaise and Dijon mustard. Process until completely smooth. Add salt and hot sauce to desired taste. Transfer the mixture to a small pastry bag with a small star tip. Pipe into whites, top with caviar and finish with chives.

For the nest
1 (1 lb) box Kataifi Phyllo, thawed
8 oz melted butter

To make the nest
Heat oven to 350
Unfold the thawed phyllo threads across a cutting board and cover with damp a paper towel. Pull a bunch of the threads, about a 1/2-inch wide, away from the pile. It is important to remove broken threads, or the nest will look sloppy.

Brush threads with melted butter. Place your index fingertip down on the work surface. Spin the small bunch of threads around your finger to make the nest shape. When the nest size is to your liking, cut off the excess and tuck your cut end under the nest. It takes a few tries to get the hang of shaping these, so don’t get discouraged. The one-pound box of Kataifi will make a lot of nests so just keep going until you get the hang of it. Move nests to a baking sheet lined with parchment. Repeat this process until you have 24 nests. Feel free to make extra to accommodate for breakage. Freeze remaining kataifi.

Bake nests in preheated oven until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes. Let cool.

Place egg on the cooled nest, top with caviar, and serve. Nests can be made ahead and stored airtight for 2 days.