Ingredients

• 100g/3½oz caster sugar
• 50g/1¾oz white wine vinegar
• 5 white peppercorns
• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• ½ tsp coriander seeds
• 6 quails’ eggs
• 500g/1lb 2oz blanched watercress (about 300-400g/10½-14oz uncooked weight))
• salt
• to taste
• 200g/7oz onions
• roughly chopped
• 250g/9oz potato
• peeled and chopped
• 1 Granny Smith apple
• finely diced
• dash oil
• 300g/10½oz onion
• chopped
• 200g/7oz celery
• roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves
• sliced
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• leaves picked and chopped
• ½ loaf wholemeal bread
• 50g/1¾oz butter
• 1 garlic clove
• grated
• 80g/2¾oz picked watercress
• 150ml/5fl oz non-scented oil
• such as vegetable or sunflower oil

Directions

• For the pickled quails’ eggs
• make the pickle liquor by bringing the sugar
• vinegar
• spices and 50ml/1¾fl oz of water to the boil in a non-reactive saucepan. Leave to cool. Pass this liquid through a sieve into a clean container with a lid.
• Cook the quails’ eggs in a pan of boiling water for two minutes and refresh in a bowl of iced water. Once cool
• peel and place in the pickle liquor. Leave them at least overnight to pickle
• but you can leave them for up to five days.
• For the watercress soup
• separate the watercress leaves and stalks. Blanch the watercress leaves in a pan of salted boiling water until soft and transfer to a bowl of iced water. Squeeze out the water and set aside 500g/1lb 2oz.
• For the nage
• in a separate pan
• heat a dash of oil and fry the onions
• celery
• garlic and rosemary until softened
• but not coloured. Once softened
• add 500ml/18fl oz of water
• bring to the boil and then add the watercress stalks. Remove from the heat and cover with cling film for 10 minutes to infuse the flavour. Pass the liquid through a fine sieve. Set aside.
• For the soup
• heat another dash of oil in a pan and fry the onions in oil. Add the sliced potatoes. Add a little of the nage to cook the potatoes. Add more nage and bring to the boil and then take it off the heat.
• Add some of the blanched watercress to a blender or food processor with the potatoes and nage and blend together - it will go bright green. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and add salt. Set aside and keep warm until ready to serve.
• For the croûtons
• remove the crusts from the bread and place them in the freezer on a baking tray while you make the watercress oil - this will help to keep the shapes nice and sharp.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 for baking the croutons later.
• For the watercress oil
• put the picked watercress in a blender. Heat the oil to 150C/300F in a pan (use a cook's thermometer to check the temperature) and pour the oil onto the watercress. Blend and pass through a clean muslin cloth into a bowl. Leave to chill in the fridge.
• For the croûtons
• in an ovenproof frying pan
• heat a little butter until nut brown. Add the diced bread and coat it in the butter. Add the grated garlic and mix together.
• Bake in the preheated oven for eight minutes or until golden-brown
• remove and drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
• To serve the soup
• put one quails’ egg in the bottom of each bowl and then add a little diced Granny Smith apple. Pour on the soup and top with the croûtons and watercress oil.