Duck(Chicken) Agrodolce

This recipe is inspired by the sweet/sour flavours of the classic Italian Agrodolce sauce. Duck is really flavoursome, however, this dish can be just as easily made with chicken or a combination of duck and chicken. I tend to purchase a whole duck and joint it or use duck marylands. One duck will serve two to four. Use or add chicken marylands or thighs if you want the dish to extend to more than three or four people or a more economical version For the sweet element I use Marsala wine, sherry and dried sour cherries. Balsamic vinegar provides the sour element. I prefer to make this the day before and reheat gently over low heat.

The combination of duck and chicken served family style from the braising dish.

The Process

Brown duck(chicken) pieces.

Add onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, pepper and a pinch of salt. Brown a little more then add Marsala, sherry and dried cherries. Cook on low heat until the meat softens and is just tender. Alternatively, place in the oven on 140 deg C and cook until meat softens and becomes tender. Do not overcook particularly if you are planning on reheating it.

Add the balsamic vinegar and toasted pine nuts if using. Check flavour and add a little more balsamic if necessary.

Ingredients

1 duck, jointed / duck or chicken marylands / chicken thighs. 

2 red onions, sliced

2 or more cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup dried sour cherries

1 bay leaf, 2 if very small

A few sprigs of thyme

1 cup Marsala

1 cup sherry

2 or more tablespoons Balsamic vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Oil for frying

Roast Duck with Cherry and Walnut Stuffing

A warm roast duck can make a great change from the traditional roast chicken. Whilst duck is not a meaty bird, a flavoursome stuffing can extend it to serve four to six people. Once cooked the duck needs to rest for an hour or so and then broken up and placed on a platter. The cherry and walnut stuffing absorbs the duck flavours as it cooks and can be sliced and served on the platter with the duck. Serve it with spiced cherries or other pickled vegetables.

Cherry and Walnut Stuffing

1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs

1 cup walnuts

1 cup pitted cherries

1/2 bunch spring onions, thinly sliced

1 egg

1 or 2 cloves garlic, crushed

Finely grated rind of 1 Orange

Generous grind of black pepper and a little salt

Optional - 1 tablespoon glacé orange peel, finely chopped

Method

Combine all the ingredients together and mix well. 

Pack the stuffing into the duck cavity and secure. I sew the duck closed with string and then tie the legs together. Roast the chicken on a trivet although this time I used chicken thighs as a trivet and removed them when cooked. 

It doesn't matter if you slightly overstuff the duck.

The duck neck can make a good sausage. Remove the skin in one piece and use it as a sausage casing. Tie one end with string, pack in the stuffing and then tie the other end. Bake with the duck. The stuffing could also be made from minced chicken or pork or a combination of meat and breadcrumbs.

Allow the sausage to cool and slice. 

Duck Breast with Orange Sauce

Duck and orange are classic combinations. This version is much quicker to make as it uses duck breast. These can be roasting in the oven whilst the sauce is prepared.

The orange cuts through the richness of the duck meat, adding ginger and star anise in the sauce and seasoning the duck with Chinese Salt 'n pepper will give a more Chinese or Asian variation. For a more o the traditional French Duck with Orange Sauce omit the ginger and star anise and season the duck with salt and pepper.

Accordingly, I like to serve it with rice rather than potatoes and steamed vegetables.












This is the salt and pepper mix that I used.

The Chinese Salt 'n Pepper Mix was an impulse buy at the fruit and vegetable store - the shopping list had star anise powder which, unfortunately, was out of stock. The man thought that this might be a good substitute did not want to come home empty handed - very wise and he was correct. The spice mix was a good substitute.  It can also be sprinkled over chicken pieces large chunks of vegetables such as pumpkin asparagus and large field mushrooms prior to baking.

Duck Breast with Orange Sauce

1 duck breast per person Salt/Pepper / Chinese Salt ‘n Pepper Mix

Orange Sauce 1 cup orange or ½ cup orange juice concentrate ½ cup chicken /duck stock Zest of 1 orange 2 cloves garlic 1 knob of green ginger 2 star anise Optional 1-2  teaspoons arrowroot dissolved in a little water

Method

Dry each duck breast with paper towel and pierce each breast a few times with a skewer.

Season the breasts with Chinese Salt ‘n Pepper mix or with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Place breasts on an oven proof dish/shallow tray. Place in a hot oven/200 deg C and cook for 20 to 30 minutes depending on size.

Remove from oven, place in a warm place to rest for 10 minutes. Add juices from the cooking dish to the sauce if desired.

Slice and serve with orange sauce.

Orange Sauce

Slice ginger and garlic into small slivers,

Combine orange juice/concentrate, orange zest, stock ginger, garlic and star anise in a saucepan

Bring to boil and simmer until sauce reduces down. Add juices from roasted duck if desired.

Strain the sauce to remove the spices.

Optional 

If desired the sauce can be thickened with a little arrowroot paste.  Add the paste to the strained sauce and then whilst stirring bring back to the boil, simmer for a minute.

Simple Curry

Meal times in a large family could be a bit of a challenge - it was hard to please everyone. Something that we all seemed to like were curried sausages. Easy to make, inexpensive and bulked out with lots of mash potatoes and veg they appeared on the menu fairly often. My recollection of them was of boiled sausages that were cut up and put into a gravy that was flavoured with curry powder. This very simple curry was the starting point of my interest in and liking for curry. Over the years the idea has been adapted, sausages are not used and additional ingredients added, however, the basic concept has remained - meat in a curry flavoured sauce. I like to use a good quality Indian curry powder, onions and garlic are essential and coconut cream or tinned tomatoes will make a good gravy.  A longer and slow cooking process is best as the sauce develops a rich mellow flavour.

Other ingredients have been listed in the recipe and add immensely to the depth of flavour, however, the curry will still be tasty without them. My cooking life is simplified and the shopping time reduced by keeping supplies in the freezer. As with all curries this keeps well, can be frozen and is best made in advance. Use making a meat curry use large pieces of meat and if possible add the bones into the cooking curry and remove before serving. For duck and chicken curries use drumsticks, thighs or jointed marylands.

Meat curry, this one is made with pork, however, lamb and beef could be substituted. The sauce has tinned tomatoes instead of coconut cream.

How to Make A Simple Curry

Heat oil in a large pan, brown duck/chicken/pork/meat

While duck/chicken/pork/meat is browning make a paste of the onions, garlic, coriander, ginger, turmeric and chilli. I use a food processor to do this; however, it can be done by finely chopping the onion and using a mortar and pestle or by grating the ginger and turmeric, crushing the garlic.

Add paste ingredients and cook for a minute or so, stirring to prevent the paste from burning, then add curry powder and fenugreek powder. Cook a further minute.

 

Add curry leaves and enough stock or water to cover.

 Add coconut cream or tomatoes and chopped coriander and cook a further thirty minutes or until meat is tender. Cover and cook on a low heat or in 150 deg C oven for an hour or so

Simple Duck /Chicken Curry

4 duck marylands/4 chicken marylands** 6 cloves garlic 1 small knob of fresh turmeric* 1 knob of green ginger* 1 or 2 red chillies or some dried chilli flakes* 3 tablespoons Indian curry powder 1 teaspoon fenugreek powder* 1 bunch coriander, finely chopped 10 curry leaves* 1 litre stock or water 1 can coconut cream Juice of 1 lemon /lime For added heat ** I use whole ducks and chickens that I bone out so that I can use the breast meat for another dish and the bones for stock, however, pieces can be purchased.

*Optional Ingredients marked* are optional but add to the flavour. To simplify shopping I purchase fresh curry leaves and then freeze them. Green ginger and fresh turmeric can also be frozen and then grated and used frozen.

Method

Joint each of the duck and chicken marylands into two pieces.

Heat oil in a large pan, brown duck/chicken

While duck/chicken is browning make a paste of the onions, garlic, coriander, ginger, turmeric and chilli. I use a food processor to do this; however, it can be done by finely chopping the onion and using a mortar and pestle or by grating the ginger and turmeric, crushing the garlic.

Add paste ingredients to duck/chicken and cook for a minute or so, stirring to prevent the paste from burning, then add curry powder and fenugreek powder. Cook a further minute.

Add curry leaves and enough stock or water to cover the duck/chicken

Cover and cook on a low heat or in 150 deg C oven for an hour or so. Add coconut cream and chopped coriander and cook a further thirty minutes or until meat is tender.  Check the flavour and add additional chilli and salt if necessary.

Simple Pork Curry

1 – 2  kg pork, cut into large dice 2 onions 6 cloves garlic 1 small knob of fresh turmeric* 1 knob of green ginger* 1 or 2 red chillies or some dried chilli flakes* 3 tablespoons Indian curry powder 1 teaspoon fenugreek powder* 1 bunch coriander, finely chopped 10 curry leaves* 1 litre stock or water 1 large can chopped tomatoes Juice of 1 lemon /lime For added heat 1 green chilli thinly sliced

*Optional Ingredients marked* are optional but add to the flavour. To simplify shopping I purchase fresh curry leaves and then freeze them. Green ginger and fresh turmeric can also be frozen and then grated and used frozen.

Method

Heat oil in a large pan, brown pork

While pork is browning make a paste of the onions, garlic, coriander, ginger, turmeric and chilli. I use a food processor to do this; however, it can be done by finely chopping the onion and using a mortar and pestle or by grating the ginger and turmeric, crushing the garlic.

Add paste ingredients to pork and cook for a minute or so, stirring to prevent the paste from burning, then add curry powder and fenugreek powder. Cook a further minute.

Add curry leaves and enough stock or water to cover the meat.

Cover and cook on a low heat or in 150 deg C oven for an hour or so. Add tinned tomatoes and chopped coriander and cook a further thirty minutes or until meat is tender.  Check the flavour and add green chilli if desired and salt if necessary.

Roast Duck with Marsala Figs

Duck can be a tricky thing to cook so for this dish I used my 'adapted sous vide' technique first and then roasted the duck portions in a very hot oven for twenty minutes to make the skin really crispy and golden brown. 

The figs will keep for weeks if kept refrigerated in the syrup. They are also quite nive as a dessert with some vanilla icecream or sliced into a bread and butter pudding.

To Cook the Duck

Bone duck into four portions, two breast and two leg/thick portions. 

Season each portion with a little salt and pepper.

Vacuum seal the legs into one pouch and the breasts into another.

Follow the instructions for the belly pork, The water temperature was kept to 80 deg C. 

I cooked the pouch of duck legs longer than the pouch of breast, 2 1/2 hours for the legs, 1 1/2 for the breast. 

Remove the poches from the water. Carefully drain the juices from each pouch into a saucepan and put aside to make the sauce.

Pat the duck portion dry with some paper towel

Place each portion on a tray lined with cooking parchment, spray with cooking spray and place in a very hot oven for 20 minutes. 

To make the Sauce

Combine the reserved juices with 1/2 cup Marsala or Port. Bring to the boil and then simmer until the sauce evaporates a little. Add two or three figs per person to the sauce and warm through.

Check flavour of the sauce, add some salt and sharpen with a  splash of balsamic vinegar if necesarry.

To Serve

Cut breast portion in half diagonally.

Place leg portion on the plate, tuck figs in and around the leg. You may prefer to cut each fig in half.

Add the breast portions and a little more fig.

Spoon a little sauce around the plated duck.

Dried Figs in Marsala Syrup 

1 pkt dried figs

1 cup Marsala wine / Port

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Combine sugar, Marsala /port and water in a saucpan and bring to boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Add figs making sure that they are covered by the syrup. Add a little more water/marsala if necessary.

Simmer until figs soften approximately 15 minutes. 

Refrigerate figs in the syrup, they are better if left for a day or two.