Quail's eggs with homemade celery salt

Preheat the oven to 120°C, fan 100°C, gas ½ and line a large baking tray with nonstick baking paper. Shave the celery sticks into thin ribbons with a flat-bladed peeler and pat dry with kitchen paper. Transfer to the baking tray and bake for about 1 hour until dry. Leave to cool. Whiz in a food processor with the salt, tip into a bowl and set aside.

Boil the eggs for 3½ minutes; drain and cool under cold running water. Peel the eggs and slice off a little piece at the base of each one so they can stand upright (leaving a few half-peeled looks attractive). Dip the tip of each egg in celery salt and stand the eggs on a serving plate. Serve with the remaining celery salt in a small dish.

Get ahead: make the celery salt a few days ahead; store in an airtight container. Boil and peel the eggs a few hours ahead.

Kitchen secret: this will make more celery salt than you need, but it keeps well and is delicious in a Bloody Mary or used to season a tomato salad.