Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad

A delightfully fresh dish for summer, this shrimp and quail egg garden salad make a lovely lunch for two by itself or side dish for a potluck or barbecue. 

Since I was a child, I’ve loved quail eggs. Hardboiled with a spicy mayo dipping sauce, they are the perfect picnic food. But they are also very versatile and an easy, tasty, bite-sized way to add protein to a meal. 

If you are also a fan of quail eggs, you might want to check out a few of my recipes that feature them. 

• Spicy Sweet Soy Eggplant Tofu Quail Egg Stir-fry
• Scotch Quail Eggs
• Malaysian-style Curry Laksa 
• Deviled Quail Egg Shrimp Canapés 

Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad

I happened to have some blood oranges in my fruit drawer so I used them in the salad and the dressing. Substitute regular oranges, mandarins or even tangerines if you don’t. 

Ingredients to serve two for lunch

For the dressing: 

1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon mustard powder

Freshly ground black pepper

3 oz or 85g crumbled feta

For the salad:

1/2 heart of romaine

1 heirloom or summer tomato

1 orange

10-12 cold boiled shrimp, peeled, tails intact

10-12 hardboiled quail eggs, peeled and halved

2 green onions, green part only, sliced

Method

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, orange juice and vinegar along with the mustard powder and black pepper. 

Add in the crumbled feta and stir. Set aside until ready to serve. Chill if it will be a while.

Wash and spin your lettuce leaves. Trim any hard ends and discard. Rip the rest into bite size pieces and spread them around on your serving plate. Cut the tomato into wedges and add them to the lettuce.

Peel the orange and cut it into bite-sized pieces. 

Scatter them among the tomatoes, along with the shrimp and halved quail eggs. 

Sprinkle on the sliced green onions. Give the dressing another good stir then serve it alongside the salad so each person can dress their own (especially if you think there might be leftovers) or spoon the dressing over the salad and serve.

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 17th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter Q. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the Q recipes below:

• Food Lust People Love: Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Quinoa Idli 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Blueberry Banana Quick Bread 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Sourdough Quinoa Bread 
• A Messy Kitchen: Roasted Cauliflower Quiche 
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Nectarine Quinoa Salad 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Shrimp Fajita Quesadillas 
• Magical Ingredients: Queso Dip 
• Culinary Cam: Quince Sharlotka 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Parmesan Potato & Zucchini Crustless Quiche 
• Blogghetti: Ham and Broccoli Quiche

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 

O. Jersey Octopus Ceviche 

P. Easy Pastina Soup 

Q. Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad – this post! 

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Easy Pastina Soup

This Easy Pastina Soup is comfort food for when you are under the weather and need something delicious, rich and nourishing, made with chicken stock and vegetables, and, of course, tiny pasta aka pastina.

It's been quite a while so I can’t remember if it was me or someone else in my immediate family that was feeling under the weather, in fact, it might have even been my neighbor. But I was texting with a dear friend and she sent me the recipe she said she always makes when her family is sick. 

I had all of the ingredients so I made it right away. It was sooo good that it became one of my favorite go-to soup recipes whenever we are feeling poorly as well. The soup is rich and full of vegetables and flavor, a true delight with the tiny pasta aka pastina.

Easy Pastina Soup

This soup is very forgiving so I haven’t given exact weights for the vegetables. Aside from the garlic, the amounts of the other veggies should be more or less similar but if you have a little more carrot and a little less celery, don’t stress over it. That said, the one onion in my pantry was tiny, so I also used a shallot to make up the difference. 

Ingredients 

10 1/2 cups or 2 1/2 liters chicken stock

1 yellow onion

3 celery ribs

3 carrots

4 garlic cloves

salt as needed

freshly ground black pepper

1 cup or 200g pastina, drained (any small pasta shape, such as orzo, little stars, or tiny macaroni noodles – macaroni will weigh less, being hollow)

Parmesan or Pecorino Romano to serve

Method

Peel and chop your carrots and onion. Peel and slice your garlic. Chop the celery ribs. 

Add the stock to a large pot and heat over high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic. Bring the contents to a boil.

Once the broth is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and semi cover the pot with a lid. 

Cook for 45-60 minutes or until the veggies are all super soft and the quantity of liquid has reduced. Taste for seasoning and adjust with some salt, if needed. 

If you have a hand blender, remove the pot from the stove and puree all of the vegetables directly in the pot.

If you don’t, use a slotted spoon to transfer the veggies to a blender, along with a couple of ladles full of broth. Blend until the mixture is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Return the blended mixture back to the pot of broth and stir. 

Give the whole pot a few generous grinds of black pepper. 

Meanwhile, in another pot, boil the pastina in salted water. Drain and return to the pot to keep warm. 

To serve, add a generous serving spoonful of the cooked pastina to the bottom of a bowl then ladle the soup on top. 

Sprinkle with some grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano. (I totally forgot this step for the photos!)

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 16th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter P. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the P recipes below:

• Food Lust People Love: Easy Pastina Soup
• Sneha’s Recipe: Grilled Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Peas and Pepper Pasta Salad
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Pasta and Pea Soup
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Pineapple Salad
• Blogghetti: Easy Pumpkin Pie Crescent Rolls
• A Messy Kitchen: Maple Pecan Fudge
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Pasta with Preserved Lemon
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Peach Crumble Pound Cake (Cake Mix Recipe)
• Culinary Cam: Brunede Kartofler (Danish Caramel Potatoes)
• Magical Ingredients: Pepper and Cheese Dip
  
  
  
  

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 

O. Jersey Octopus Ceviche 

P. Easy Pastina Soup – this post! 

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Jersey Octopus Ceviche

Made with octopus caught in Channel Islands waters, this tender Jersey Octopus Ceviche is the perfect tart and spicy dish for a bright hot summer day. 

If you read my grilled octopus post a couple of weeks ago, you’ll know that our favorite eight-legged sea creatures have become quite a menace for folks in these islands that capture crabs and lobsters to sell as their livelihood. An octopus can easily get inside the cages and eat the entire catch! 

So, as suggested by our local newspaper, we are trying to eat more octopus! It’s great in a risotto but frankly, we just love it grilled with a squeeze of lemon.

I actually made this ceviche with leftover grilled octopus from that previous recipe but you can use cooked octopus bought vacuum-packed in a grocery store. If you are stateside or live in the UK, Costco carries it as well in the refrigerated section near the meat counter.

Jersey Octopus Ceviche

My three limes were fat and juicy so they yielded about 1/2 cup or 120ml of juice, which nicely covered the sliced onions and chopped chili pepper. Use more if your limes aren’t as productive, juice-wise. This recipe serves two generously.

Ingredients

1/2 medium purple onion

1 red chili pepper

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

3 limes (or more if your limes aren’t juicy)

small bunch cilantro plus extra for garnish, if desired

7 oz or 200g cooked octopus

Method

Peel and finely slice the onion, finely chop the chili pepper and cut the octopus in bite-sized pieces. 

Put the onion, chili pepper and salt in a bowl that will eventually hold all of your ingredients. Cover and refrigerate the octopus. 

Pick the hard stems off of the cilantro and discard them. Tender stems are fine. 

Rinse the cilantro with cool water and spin to dry. Don’t skip this crucial step. No one wants grit in their ceviche. 

Chop it finely and set aside. 

Juice the limes into a separate bowl and discard any seeds.

Pour the juice into the onion bowl. Give it a little stir then cover and leave to macerate until you are about half an hour from serving. If it’s longer than a couple of hours, you can refrigerate the mixture. 

About half an hour before serving, stir the octopus and cilantro into the onion bowl, making sure the octopus is well coated with the marinade. 

Set aside to marinate for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir again to serve and garnish with a little more cilantro, if desired. 

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 15th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter O. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the O recipes below:

• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Cranberry Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Orange Chocolate Cake 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Orzo with Parmesan and Basil 
• Food Lust People Love: Jersey Octopus Ceviche 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Overnight Oats 
• Blogghetti: Easy White Chocolate Covered Oreos 
• A Messy Kitchen: Citrus Marinated Chicken 
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Orange Avocado Salad 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Sheet Pan Italian Olive Oil Summer Vegetables
• Culinary Cam: Octopus: Takoyaki, a Japanese Snack Food
• Magical Ingredients: Onion Oaxaca Dip

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 

O. Jersey Octopus Ceviche – this post! 

Pin this Jersey Octopus Ceviche!

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Nocciolata Swirl Meringues

These Nocciolata swirl meringues are made with a better quality chocolate hazelnut spread that doesn’t have palm oil or dairy. They are crunchy outside, a little chewy inside and just the right amount of sweet. 

According to Google, "Nocciolata is made with organic ingredients, including sunflower oil and cocoa butter, and is free of palm oil, artificial flavors, and preservatives, making it a more natural option. Nutella, on the other hand, includes palm oil, modified palm oil, and other ingredients like soy lecithin and vanillin." 

A couple of years ago, I was looking for a vegan friendly chocolate hazelnut spread to use in a recipe – I can’t remember what I wanted to make – and came across Nocciolata online. Unfortunately, none of the shops near me carried it and shipping was cost prohibitive so I was forced to abandon the project.

Fast forward to last summer when we were traveling in France and there it was! Of course, I had to buy a couple of jars. It’s lovely stuff, darker chocolate than Nutella and not overly sweet. I wish I could remember why I wanted it! 

It was perfect swirled through these baked meringues.

Nocciolata Swirl Meringues

If you can’t find Nocciolata, substitute your favorite chocolate hazelnut spread to make these.  I used golden caster sugar but normal granulated sugar will work fine. 

Ingredients

1/4 cup or 75g Nocciolata

2 large egg whites, at room temperature

Pinch cream of tartar

Pinch fine sea salt

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon or 112g sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 300°F or 149°C and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with baking parchment. Tip: Put a little dab of oil in the middle and under each corner to help hold it in place. 

Measure the Nocciolata into a ramekin and then put the ramekin in a bowl with hot water, to loosen it slightly. 

Put the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until they are completely foamy. 

Add the cream of tartar and the salt and continue whipping at medium-high speed until, when you lift the whisk attachment, soft peaks form. This should take a few minutes.

Once you have reached the soft peak stage, increase the speed to high and begin adding the sugar a tablespoon at a time (this should take a few minutes). 

Once all the sugar is in, the meringue should be very thick and when you left the whisk firm peaks should remain and it will be glossy.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and drop in all the Nocciolata. 

With a rubber spatula, gently fold it into the meringue three or four times. You’re aiming for a swirled effect so try not to over mix. 

Scoop up a heaping tablespoon of meringue then use another tablespoon to scrape off and drop the meringue onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue until you’ve used all of the mixture and made about 14 meringues.

Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, immediately lower the heat to 200°F or 94°C. Bake for 1 hour, turning the baking sheet around halfway through. 

After 1 hour, turn the oven off and leave the meringues in the oven for a few hours as the oven cools. Remove from the oven and store in an airtight container. 

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 14th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter N. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the N recipes below:

• Food Lust People Love: Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Olya Naralachi Karanji / Fresh Coconut Nevries 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: New England Iced Tea 
• Blogghetti: Zucchini Nut Bread
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Crispy Noodle Salad 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Singapore Noodles 
• A Messy Kitchen: Frozen Negroni
• Culinary Cam: White Nectarine-Lime Jam 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Nut-Free Basil Pesto Chunky Tomato Sauce 
• Magical Ingredients: Nutella Neufchatel Dip 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Sweet and Spicy Cashews

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues – this post! 

Pin these Nocciolata Swirl Meringues!

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Milk-Roasted Chicken

This Milk-Roasted Chicken is made with the deliciously odd combination of lemon and milk which creates the most tender chicken and a divine sauce. Add mushrooms and baby new potatoes for a one-pot meal.

I first started making a version of this chicken after watching Jamie Oliver’s show Oliver’s Twist way back in 2002. The episode was called Big Grub for Big Boys and Jamie was cooking for his local rugby team. 

The original calls for sage instead of tarragon and fewer cloves of garlic, and no mushrooms or baby new potatoes so you could make this without them but I do love a one-pot dinner. 

Milk-Roasted Chicken

This recipe, as mentioned above, is adapted from one of Jamie Oliver’s. It can also be found in his cookbook, Happy Days with the Naked Chef. Below I have given the amounts of mushrooms and potatoes I used this time. Know that if you want to add more or less of either, it’s all still good. Can’t find fresh tarragon? Use your favorite fresh herb. Thyme or even rosemary would be delicious.

 

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (about 3 lbs or 1.5 kg)  

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 

4 oz or 113g butter 

1 cinnamon stick 

2 big sprigs fresh tarragon 

1 lemon

8 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 

2 1/4 cups or 540ml milk

5 1/2 oz or 156g baby button mushrooms

1 lb or 450g baby new potatoes

Method

Preheat the oven to 375°F or 190°C, and find a snug-fitting pot for the chicken. Cross the chicken’s legs and secure them together with string or silicone bands. 

Season the chicken generously all over with salt and pepper, and fry it in the butter, turning the chicken to get an even color all over, until golden. 

Start breast down and don’t try to turn it until you can move it slightly, about 7-8 minutes. If you try to turn it too soon, before it’s lovely and brown, the skin will stick to the bottom of the pot.

Remove from the heat, put the chicken on a plate. 

Jamie says at this point, “throw away the butter left in the pot which will leave you with tasty sticky goodness at the bottom of the pan, which will give you a lovely caramel flavor later on.” I must confess, I just couldn’t do it. 

Throwing away butter goes against my very ethos regarding cooking. Have you ever seen a French chef throw out butter? Oh, hell, no. They add more! 

Strip the leaves off the tarragon and set aside a small pile for garnish later. Use a potato peeler to remove the lemon zest thinly in big pieces. Peel the garlic and hit the cloves with the side of a knife to crush them slightly. 

Juice your lemon, but leave a little bit in one rind for squeezing over the cooked chicken.

 

Add the cinnamon stick, bigger pile of tarragon, lemon zest and garlic to the pot. Give it all a quick stir. 

Put the chicken on top, breast side up and pour the milk and lemon juice around the sides. 

Add in the cleaned mushrooms.

Roast the chicken in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes. Baste with the cooking juice from time to time. 

Add in the new potatoes and roast for a further 45 minutes. 

To serve, squeeze the last of the lemon juice over the chicken and sprinkle on the reserved tarragon.

If you serve from a platter instead of the pot, make sure to include the juices from the pan in a gravy boat on the side!

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 13th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter M. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the M recipes below:

• Food Lust People Love: Milk Roasted Chicken with New Potatoes and Mushrooms
• Blogghetti: Movie Night Charcuterie Board 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Mango Bread Pastry - No Bake Dessert 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Mocha Milkshake 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Maple Pecan Madeleines 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Steak and Mushroom Bites 
• A Messy Kitchen: Mini Lemon Cupcakes with Marionberry Frosting (Doctored Cake Mix)
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Moong Dal Salad | Kosambari
• Magical Ingredients: Mint Mascarpone Dip 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Pineapple Ketchup Ground Turkey Skillet Meatballs 
• Culinary Cam: Mini Peach Galettes

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken – this post! 

Pin this Milk-Roasted Chicken!

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