Green Bean, Truffle Butter Breadcrumbs and Quail Egg Salad

Add a touch of gourmet to an otherwise easy recipe. Your guests will be so impressed with the delectable truffle tones in this Quail Egg Salad.

Why I Love Green Bean, Truffle Butter Breadcrumbs and Quail Egg Salad

I adore this green bean salad recipe because it’s so easy to make and to spruce it up a little bit, I just tweaked a couple of ingredients to make it superstar worthy.

I have a group of friends who eat everything and anything truffle and by simply using truffle butter as opposed to regular butter, it’s incredible how it can transform an entire salad.

The quail eggs are more expensive than regular eggs and requires a bit of additional work to peel them. But my family and friends love them and appreciate the extra effort, making the salad that extra gourmet.

Where Can I Buy Quail Eggs?

Quail eggs are not as scarce or expensive as they use to be. I mean, you can even buy them in a can! Please don’t do that for a salad though! They have to be fresh.

Try finding them in the egg section of the supermarket, your poultry counter or Asian grocer. Sometimes they come in a takeaway container with about 20 eggs whilst it can also come in egg cartons. If you’re unsure, just ask for someone’s assistance.

How to Boil, Peel and Cut Quail Eggs?

Quail eggs, although delicious, can be a bit tricky to peel as they are so small. As I am picky and want my eggs to be perfect for the salad, I find I always stuff up about 2 for every 10 so I always boil extra just in case.

Everyone seems to have a theory about the best way to make hard boiled quail eggs. I have always placed them in a saucepan with cold water and I bring it to boil on medium heat. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes, drain and run under cold water.

I have found that my highest success rate for peeling them perfectly, is to crack them against the kitchen bench (or roll under your hand) the entire way around the egg.

Then look for a bit on the tip which has the best opening or is slightly lifted. Get under the membrane and it usually all comes off at in one go.

If your fingers are too big to get under the membrane, like my partner’s, you can get a small paring knife to help you knick that part off to get you started. The rest of the shell should come away relatively easily from then on.

My daughter usually helps me with this process only because she knows she can pop the imperfect ones straight into her mouth!

When you’re cutting the quail eggs, use a small knife. I always wipe my knife after I cut every egg as I find that some of the yolk inevitably sticks to the knife.

When I cut the next egg, the yolk residue is left on the new egg as I cut it. Weird but it’s one of my pet hates, especially after all my effort in peeling those perfect quail eggs!

Why Panko Breadcrumbs?

Panko breadcrumbs are flaky, airy and light. I love the texture as opposed to normal breadcrumbs which are denser, especially after being browned in butter.

Panko breadcrumbs resemble shards rather than grains and as result of that, its stays crunchier longer too.

The Japanese Panko breadcrumbs can’t be made at home as they are cooked on a metal plate with electrical currents. The end product is not actual bread as we know it but rather a product which resembled it.

As this product is not baked, no crust forms and when it goes stale and dries out, the Japanese bread would break apart into small shards and thus the birth of Panko.

The story suggests that during the war, the Japanese didn’t have ovens but they had metal and electric currents and from there they created their version of bread.

My daughter loves this butter panko breadcrumbs recipe so I always have to make extra as she eats them by the spoonful!

Panko breadcrumbs are Keto friendly and vegan. It is however not gluten free.

Instructions

Step by step instructions for how to make green bean, truffle butter breadcrumbs and quail egg salad:

How to Prepare the Green Bean and Quail Egg Salad

Let’s get the fiddly part out of the way first. Place the quail eggs in a small saucepan of cold water. Bring the saucepan to boil on medium heat.

Reduce the heat and simmer for a further 5 minutes to get hard boiled quail eggs. Remove the quail eggs from the saucepan and run under cold water. Peel the eggs and then cut them in half.

With the green beans, cut off the ends. Place them in a small saucepan of salted boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes or until al dente. Drain and run under cold water. Set aside to dry on some paper towels.

On a fry pan, heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil and truffle butter. When the butter starts to melt, add 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs and fry for about 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Stir constantly as it can burn quickly. Set aside to cool.

Roughly chop the parsley to yield ¼ cup.

How to Make the Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette

I love nice and easy salad dressing recipes. It is the best seasoning for green beans.

In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tbsp of olive oil, Dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar until well combined.

How to Assemble the Salad

On a flat serving plate, we are going to build this salad.

Place the green beans on the salad platter. Pour half the dressing on top and season with salt and pepper.

Then add the truffle butter panko breadcrumbs.

Put half the chopped parsley on top of the breadcrumbs.

Gently lay the quail eggs on top and be sure to spread them out evenly and make them look good. The yolk tends to pop out of the white so don’t just pick them up in a heap and place them on top of the salad.

Then pour the rest of the dressing over the quail eggs, add the remaining parsley and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

This is a classic example of how to spruce up an easy green bean salad into a little something special. It is tasty, pungent and a wonderful savoury mix of crunch and chalky texture of the quail egg yolks. Tell me your dinner guests won’t be impressed by your ingenuity!

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