Savory Quail Eggs and Bacon Tart Appetizers, with 2-ingredients in mini tart shells, are easy, impressive and delicious appetizers or brunch nibbles.
Appetizer Tarts For Special Occasions
Did you know that appetizer preparation is labeled as ‘long time’ on a restaurant worksheet?
Often times, the main course is quicker to prepare than the small-plate bites we call appetizers, unless you are serving a charcuterie board.
But for a special dinner party these tarts are quick to prepare, look adorable, easy to pick up as finger food and only uses 3-ingredients, plus salt and pepper!
Quail’s Eggs
If you prefer whimsical, artsy, delicious finger food, to serve your friends, that doesn’t take a long time to prepare, then let’s start with quail’s eggs.
The first time I prepared these adorable tiny eggs was to put into a picnic basket story I was doing, called Lunch In A Jar; layered elements of a salad with tea eggs in it.
I used quail eggs, cooked in tea to obtain a beautiful marbling affect and to extract the flavor of the tea in the white of the egg.
What captured my attention to return to using quail’s eggs often, is the shear attraction of their size, and flavor.
Bacon And Eggs
Who doesn’t love bacon and eggs for breakfast or brunch!
Of course the first egg that would come to mind is chicken eggs for this dish.
But why not these tiny quail eggs with a sliver of the lean part of the bacon, or swap the bacon for smoked salmon?
When I first made these savory quail egg tarts, using bacon in one and smoked salmon in the other, hubby said if he closed his eyes he’d swear it was a bite of breakfast!
Egg Obsession
Why do we have an obsession with eggs? Well, at least I do. I love that they are a good source of protein. We love them in our desserts as well as a meal.
But these tiny little quail eggs are just too whimsical not to find lots of ways to showcase their appearance and taste.
How To Easily Open Raw Quail Eggs
Go ahead, try to tap a quail egg on the side of a bowl and open it. Nope, it doesn’t work!
Unlike a chicken eggs, the membrane around the egg is thicker and doesn’t split open, simply by cracking the shell.
Working with a small serrated knife, much in the same way you would a paring knife, cut (saw), through the top of the fat end of the egg.
This technique works like a charm and the egg pops right out (how to video in the recipe)!
Savory Quail Egg Appetizers
While I find this quail egg tart, an easy and fast appetizers to serve, you can use quail eggs in much the same way you would chicken eggs.
To add color to these tiny eggs, beet hummus can be used as the filling, making them into deviled eggs.
Or simply cook these little eggs sunny side up and serve over a slice of crispy bread, as a bruschetta.
How To Make Quail Eggs and Bacon Tart For Appetizers Or Brunch
If you enjoy having gatherings at your home, I’d suggest keeping a frozen carton of mini tart shells on hand.
So many quick and impressive appetizers can be whipped up and baked in under 10-minutes in the shells.
To make these tarts, you will simple:
- Lay the shells out on a parchment paper lined baking tray.
- Open an egg and plop into each shell.
- Add a small piece of bacon (or smoked salmon).
- Bake for about 7-minutes and they are ready to serve.
Options To Serve With Quail Egg Tarts
While these adorable quail egg tarts are perfect just as is, there are many options to change this up a bit.
You can definitely use smoked salmon, instead of bacon.
A little drizzle of olive oil with a finely chopped green onion, for a Mediterranean twist.
A dash of tomato sauce and a few red pepper flakes, for a Ranchero flavor.
Or perhaps you could replicate scotch eggs by placing a thin circle of sausage over the top of the egg, before baking.
Tips For Appetizers
The key to making appetizers, is to be able to make a recipe into a small, bite size finger food.
For this reason, I always keep a box of puff pastry and mini tart shells in my freezer.
Many ingredients can be baked into the shells, or puff pastry that has been rolled out with a rolling pin on a floured work surface, and cookie cutters used to shape the dough for baking.
Once you have dough to work with, just about anything can be baked on top, or tucked inside.
Quail Eggs vs Chicken Eggs
While I’d say you could swap out a quail egg for a chicken egg in many dishes, just remember to scale down the portions.
A favorite Mediterranean egg Hor d’Oeuvres of mine, is Turkish Cilbir.
This is a perfectly poached egg served over a small cup of garlic yogurt.
A tiny quail egg, poached and laid over a tiny cup of garlic yogurt makes the perfect 2-bite appetizer.
Or, perhaps a Cloud Egg, in which the whites of the quail egg is whipped and baked to look like a cloud, while the tiny yolk bakes, sitting in the center of the cloud, served over a spinach leaf.
The possibilities are endless, just as all eggs are!
Equipment Needed
- Baking sheet pan
- Parchment paper
- Small serrated knife
- Cutting board
- Oven
Ingredients Needed
- Quail eggs
- Mini tart shells
- Bacon or smoked salmon
- Salt and Black pepper
Savory Quail Eggs and Bacon Tart Appetizers
Equipment
- Baking sheet pan
- Parchment paper
- Serrated knife
Ingredients
- 12 Quail eggs
- 12 Mini tart shells
- 2 slices Bacon cooked and cut into 12 pieces
- Salt and Black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325. On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, set the mini tart shells slightly spaced apart.
- Take a small knife with a serrated edge in your hand, as though paring a small fruit, and cut along the top of the fat end of the egg shell, to remove it like a top. The egg will easily pop out into the tart shell.
- Cut a small piece of cooked bacon and set it in the edge of the shell in the egg whites, taking care not to pop the egg yolk. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Bake until the egg yolk is firm, about 10 minutes. Serve.
- Once cooked, the tart is good to sit out room temperature for about an hour. If there are any leftover, simply wrap with cling film, keep in the fridge, and rewarm at a later time.
Video
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.
