Codornices en hoja de parra

Step 1: Heat the oven to 425°F (400°F fan). Pat the 8 oven-ready quail dry, season inside with the ½ tsp black pepper and a little of the ¼ tsp salt, and push a 4 cloves garlic clove half and a few 4 sprigs fresh thyme leaves into each cavity.

Step 2: Lay 2 overlapping 16 vine leaves in brine on the board, sit a quail on them breast side down and wrap the leaves up around it. Wrap a rasher of 8 rashers of streaky bacon around the middle to hold the leaves in place. A common mistake is wrapping too loosely, so the leaves dry and slip off in the oven.

Step 3: Put the parcels in a roasting tin, drizzle with the 3 tbsp olive oil and roast for 18–22 minutes until the bacon is crisp and the leaves are dark and papery at the edges.

Step 4: Check one bird with a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh: it must read 165°F, and the juices should run clear. Rest for 5 minutes.

Step 5: Serve two quail per person in their leaves, with 7 oz seedless grapes alongside if you like; the leaves can be eaten or unwrapped.