Serves 2
Ingredients
For the duck
- 2 whole duck legs
- 125g/4½oz well-marbled bacon, chopped
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 10g/⅓oz thyme, leaves picked and finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 235ml/8¼fl oz light red wine (such as Beaujolais)
- 115ml/4fl oz chicken stock
- 125g/4½oz pitted prunes
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the confit garlic
For the celeriac
- 400g/14oz celeriac, peeled and cubed
- 20g/¾oz olive oil
- 60g/2¼oz unsalted butter
- 20g/¾oz confit garlic (see above)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
To make the duck, preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7. Season the duck legs all over with salt and pepper and let them come to room temperature.
Set a heavy, large, lidded pot over a medium-low heat and add the duck legs, skin side down. Cook to gently render the fat and brown the skin, going low and slow to prevent scorching, for about 30 minutes. Then increase the heat to medium or medium-high to give the skin a rich brown colour if necessary.
Flip the legs and sear the flesh side until chestnut brown, about 3 minutes more. Transfer the legs to a tray.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the bacon. Cook gently, stirring to render out the fat without browning the bacon. With a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to the tray with the duck legs and pour off and discard all but a thin layer of fat from the pot.
Add the shallots to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they soften but do not colour.
Add the thyme and garlic and cook for 2–3 minutes.
Return the duck legs and bacon to the pot, along with any accumulated juices, and turn the heat up to high. Add the red wine and chicken stock – there should be enough liquid to submerge the legs by three quarters, so the skin remains just above the surface. Bring the liquid to a simmer, then turn off the heat and cover the legs with a circle of baking paper and then the lid.
Place into the oven and braise until the legs have cooked through but the meat isn’t so tender it’s falling off the bones, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the duck to a tray, leaving the braising liquid and bacon behind in the pot.
Add the prunes to the pot and then return the legs, along with all of their juices. Cover again with the baking paper and lid, return the pot to the oven, and continue cooking until the meat is spoon-soft, about 1 hour longer. Remove from the oven and let it rest for at least 15 minutes.
Just before serving, spoon off the excess fat that has risen to the surface. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if needed.
To make the confit garlic, put the garlic cloves and oil into a small saucepan. Bring up the heat gradually and poach the cloves until soft. Drain and set aside.
To make the confit garlic, put the peeled cloves of garlic into the oil in a small saucepan. Bring up the heat gradually and poach the cloves until soft. This will take 30–40 minutes on a low heat. Drain and set aside.
To make the celeriac, season the celeriac cubes liberally with salt. Massage it in and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes.
Once a fair amount of water has come out, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over a medium-high heat.
Add the celeriac and don’t move it for the first two minutes – you want a bit of colour, but don’t let it burn. Stir and let sit for two more minutes.
Lower the heat, cover with baking paper, and allow to cook for about 40 minutes until very soft, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Don’t let it burn.
Once the celeriac has broken down, remove the parchment and roughly mash with your spoon – you want some texture and some creamy bits.
Add the confit garlic and butter, then mix well. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Remove from the heat and cool.
To serve, place the mashed celeriac onto the serving plates and top with the cooked duck legs along with the prune and bacon sauce.
Comments
Post a Comment