Quail With Fregola and Olives

• 12 quails, butterflied
• Salt
• pepper
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons black-olive tapenade
• 5 cups chicken stock, or as needed
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fennel
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• Leaves from 3 rosemary sprigs
• 13 cup pitted black Nicoise olives, chopped
• 1 pound fregola (toasted pasta)

1. Rinse the quails, pat them dry and season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat one tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat in a large saute pan.
3. Brown as many quails, skin side down, as will fit in one layer.
4. Remove seared birds to a platter and repeat with the rest.
5. Mix the tapenade with the remaining olive oil and spread on the uncooked side of each quail.
6. Heat the stock to a simmer in a saucepan.
7. Meanwhile, turn the heat in the saute pan to low, add the fennel, onion and garlic and saute until soft.
8. Stir in the tomato paste, rosemary and olives.
9. Stir in the fregola.
10. Begin adding warm stock, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring while it is absorbed, as if making risotto.
11. After 20 to 25 minutes, the fregola should be al dente.
12. Add any quail juices from the platter and season with salt and pepper.
13. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
14. Spoon the fregola into a large baking dish.
15. On top of it, arrange the quails, skin side up, slightly overlapping.
16. Bake 20 minutes.

salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil, blackolive tapenade, chicken stock, fennel, onion, garlic, tomato paste, rosemary sprigs, nicoise olives, pasta

Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013281 (may not work)