(Serves two)

This is a lovely treat for two, but if you are serving four, use eight quail and eight bacon rashers, a few more apricots and 250 ml of stock

80 g dried apricots
4 quail, defrosted if frozen
Ground black pepper
4 thinly sliced streaky bacon rashers
Handful of fresh thyme sprigs
1 tbsp olive oil
Half small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp brandy
Flour
150 ml beef stock
Parsley sprigs to garnish

Put the dried apricots into a bowl, cover them with boiling water and leave them to soak for half an hour, then drain them. Leave four whole and slice the rest thickly.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Put a whole apricot and sprig of thyme into the cavity of each quail and season with ground black pepper. Stretch the bacon rashers with the back of a knife, then wrap a rasher around each quail, tuck in a sprig of thyme and put them into a small roasting tin.

Drizzle over the olive oil and roast the quail in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the juices run clear when pierced with the point of a knife.

Arrange the quail on a serving dish, cover with foil and keep warm.

Add the onion to the roasting tin and cook over gentle heat until it softens. Add the garlic and cook for a minute more. Stir in the sliced apricots and brandy and ignite (if using the fan in the cooker hood, turn it off before flaming). When the flames have died down sprinkle in enough flour to absorb the fat and cook for another two minutes.

Blend in the stock, bring to the boil, then lower the heat again. Taste, season as necessary with salt and pepper and simmer for a few minutes more. Pour the sauce over the quail, garnish with a tuft of parsley sprigs and serve.