Yemi Adelekan is a food writer and blogger who was a semi-finalist in the 2022 series of BBC TV’s Masterchef competition.

Every Saturday, Yemi writes on the Stray Ferret about her love of the area’s food and shares cooking tips – please get in touch with her if you want her to review a restaurant, visit your farm, taste the produce you sell or even share a recipe.

Last week, I promised to share the recipe for the dish I cooked during my first demo at the Game Theatre at the Great Yorkshire Show – a comforting, flavour-forward plate of suya-spiced quail with smoky honey beans and spiced plantain.

Being on stage surrounded by Yorkshire’s rolling fields and rural traditions while cooking a meal rooted in my Nigerian upbringing was, in itself, a full-circle moment. These are opportunities to knit my two food worlds together – the bold, spice-laced warmth of West Africa with the produce, game and sensibility of my Yorkshire life. It’s creating home away from home, and the glorious sunshine was exactly how it would be in Nigeria.

And when it comes to home, beans and plantain is a dish that carries childhood memory in every spoonful. But this version which I cooked with quail, infused oils, and slow-layered flavour was anything but ordinary. It was designed to elevate the familiar while still being comforting and rooted.

Here’s how it all came together.

Suya quail with smoky honey beans and spiced plantain

Ingredients

For the beans:

· 1½ cups cooked honey beans (or black-eyed beans), pressure-cooked with stock, onions, spices, and quail carcass

· 1 small onion, sliced

· 1 tbsp tomato paste

· 1 tsp thyme

· ½ tsp curry powder

· 1 tsp Aleppo chilli flakes

· ½ tsp smoked paprika

· roasted blend of 1 red pointed pepper, 1 scotch bonnet, 1 onion (blended)

· salt to taste

Flavour bases:

· ½ cup neutral oil (rapeseed or vegetable)

· 4 garlic cloves, smashed

· 1 thumb of ginger, grated

· 2 spring onions, finely chopped

· 4–5 cherry tomatoes + 4 garlic cloves (for confit)

· smoked sea salt to finish

For the plantain:

· 2 ripe plantains, diced

· ½ red and ½ yellow pointed pepper, chopped

· ½ onion, chopped

· 1 tsp tomato paste

· 2 tbsp blended pepper mix (same as used in beans)

For the quail:

· 2 quail, deboned

· 1 tbsp suya spice blend

· 1 tbsp roasted peanut powder

· 2 tbsp neutral oil

· 1 tbsp suya spice + 2 tbsp oil (for suya oil)

· wok-hei oil (from garlic, ginger, spring onion mix)

· butter (equal part to wok-hei oil)

To finish:

· green plantain, thinly sliced and fried for crunch

· paprika and scotch bonnet oil (optional)

· suya oil drizzle (optional)

Method

1. Infused oils and roasted bases

Start by making your wok-hei oil: thinly slice garlic cloves, grated ginger, and finely chopped spring onion in neutral oil on low heat until fragrant but not browned.

Slow-roast onions, scotch bonnet, and red peppers in the oven until soft, caramelised, and lightly charred. Blend to a thick sauce.

Confit your garlic and cherry tomatoes in oil until soft and jammy; they’ll melt into the beans beautifully.

2. Pressure-cook the beans

If you can, pressure cook your beans with stock, onions, and the quail carcass (this adds richness). Cook until soft but not mushy – about 25-30 minutes. Black-eye beans will take longer to cook.

3. Build the Bean Flavour

In a pan, fry sliced onions in oil until soft. Add tomato paste and cook it down until it darkens. Add a pinch of thyme, curry, Aleppo flakes and smoked paprika. Stir in your roasted pepper blend and simmer gently. Add the cooked beans, then let it all cook slowly so the flavours marry. Taste and adjust seasoning with smoked sea salt.

4. Spiced plantain

Fry diced ripe plantain until golden and crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside. Set aside.

In a separate pan, sauté chopped onions and pointed peppers in oil. Add a teaspoon of tomato paste and a few spoons of your pepper blend. Cook down until rich. Season and stir in the fried plantain cubes. Let them absorb the sauce for a few minutes.

5. Quail preparation

Marinate your quail with suya spice, peanut powder and a touch of oil overnight. You can add some peanut butter instead of the powder and oil.

Warm the suya oil and let it infuse overnight too.

To cook, heat a 50:50 mix of wok-hei oil and butter. Pan-sear the quail quickly over medium-high heat. Baste and finish with a spoon of suya oil to lock in the flavour.

6. Crunchy plantain garnish

Thinly slice green plantain using a mandolin. Fry until crispy and season with smoked sea salt. These add that essential texture contrast to the soft beans and tender quail.

7. Plate Like a pro or however you feel led; no judgement here

Spoon the smoky beans as your base. Nestle the spiced plantain on the side. Lay the quail gently across or beside. Drizzle suya oil over the quail and finish with a touch of paprika oil on the beans. Top with your crunchy plantain crisps.

It’s a dish that whispers comfort but echoes the complexity. The layers of flavour come not from fanciness, but from thoughtfulness of roasting, confiting, marinating, and infusing. It reminds me of the quiet power of taking time in cooking. Of care, of connection, of knitting flavours that are yummy by design.

This dish is my heart on a plate. It’s a reminder that I can celebrate Yorkshire’s game traditions while holding tight to my own food heritage.

So whether you’ve never tried quail or it’s already a favourite, I hope you’ll give this one a go. All ingredients are available at continental shops.

Next week, I’ll be sharing the trout dish I made for Howell Morgan – the fisherman who doesn’t eat trout. That one had seaweed, sumac and jollof-style bulgur, and a surprising outcome.

Until then, enjoy the sunshine, opportunities for barbecues and connect with others.