Quinces & Aprons!

Last Saturday in my search for the Holy Grail, ahem, the jar of mustard fruits needed for the rabbit recipe I went to a lovely food and wine store here in town - The Kingdom Store. This is a fab shop stocking lots of foodie goodies and great wines. Anyways no sign of the Mustard fruits but from the corner of my eye I spotted what I thought were Capri lemons and made a beeline for them, turned out they were Quinces. Hmmmm... interesting I thought and sur I had to bring a couple home with me.

Quinces have a tough golden skin when ripe with a firm acid flesh that is highly aromatic, generally used for jams and jellies or to flavour pies.

I found a great recipe online - Gordon Ramsay's Pan roasted duck with caramelised quince and pear.

Serves 4

100g caster sugar
100ml cider vinegar
4 star anise
3 cinnamon sticks
1 quince, cored and cut into 2cm-thick wedges
4 duck breasts, about 175g each
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Handful of thyme sprigs
1 pear, cored
50g butter, cut into cubes
Splash of balsamic vinegar

Put the sugar in a small pan and pour in the vinegar and 200ml water. Dissolve the sugar over a low heat; once the liquid is clear, add 2 star anise and 1 cinnamon stick. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Carefully add the quince to the pan, return to the boil and poach uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove the quince and drain on kitchen paper.

Pat the duck breasts dry with kitchen paper. Score the skin in a crisscross pattern and season generously with salt and pepper. Place the duck breasts skin-side down in a dry, ovenproof pan with the remaining spices and thyme. Cook over a low heat to render down most of the fat. This will take 10-15 minutes. Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6.

Increase the heat under the duck and fry until the skin is crisp. Turn them over and seal the other side for 1 minute. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 8 minutes for medium-rare – the meat should feel slightly springy when pressed. Rest the duck on a warm plate for 10 minutes.

While the duck rests, cut the pears into 2cm-thick wedges. Pat the quince and pear dry with kitchen paper. Melt the butter in a heavy-based frying pan, then add the fruit. Cook for 5 minutes over a moderate heat, turning halfway and seasoning as it cooks. Once tender and lightly caramelised, add a splash of balsamic vinegar and any juices from the duck. Cook until syrupy.

Carve the duck into thick slices and serve with the caramelised quince and pears, and the pan juices poured over.

We had it with some stirfried cabbage and fondant potatoes.

I will not and cannot cook without wearing an apron and I love them, I have loads - dotty ones, stripey ones, flowery ones, fruity ones, plain ones and last Saturday I got this beaut in Carrig Donn and better again reduced from €15 to €9!

Looking forward to the Dingle Food & Wine Festival at the weekend, we'll be heading over on Sunday.

Jamie's Confit Duck with Lentils

A couple of weeks ago I had an appointment with a periodontist in Cork - wasn't looking forward to that but I certainly salivated at the prospect of visiting the English Market. As Billy said I'm one of the few women he knows who doesn't go clothes/shoe/bag shopping when I get a couple of spare hours in the Big Smoke, nope I head for Cork Art Supplies and the English Market and I'm as happy as a pig in poop for ages afterwards.

I always stock up on the things that aren't easily available here - bloody impossible to get!. Plump little Quails, Skeaghamore Duck legs and breasts, fresh rabbit and beautifully creamy Mozarella from Toonsbridge dairy in Macroom, usually some delicious cheeses and a nice crusty bread or two also.

So yesterday I was in Tesco's and I picked up the latest Jamie (Oliver) magazine. Now I have to admit he wouldn't be one of my hero chefs but glancing thru the magazine I noticed a recipe for Duck confit and the duck legs that were in my freezer called to me and said "Confit me, confit me". Now, I have never confit-ed anything before - is confit-ed a real verb????? But jamie's recipe sounded ok, apart from calling for duck fat - didn't have any so I checked out another couple of duck confit recipes when I got home and The Cliff House cookbook had confit duck legs but confit-ed in sunflower oil so I subbed the sunflower oil for the duck fat.

Here's what's needed:

Recipe is not strictly true to Jamie's one and has been altered a little.
Serves 2

2 Duck legs
A few Juniper berries
A few allspice berries
A couple cloves garlic peeled and crushed.
A sprig of rosemary.
A leafy sprig of thyme.
About a tablespoon of coarse sea salt. Next time I might reduce this as himself thought it was a tad too salty and truth be told he wasn't wrong.

Here's what you'll need to do:

Put duck in a flat dish.
Bash the juniper, allspice, garlic together in a pestle and mortar. Mix with the salt and scatter over the duck. Tear the herbs over the duck and rub all into the duck.
Cover with clingfilm and leave to marinate in fridge for about 12 hours or overnight.

Next day, rinse the duck under cold water and pat dry with kitchen towel.
Place a large heavy deep pan over a low heat and place the duck legs in, cover with sunflower oil. Bring to a soft boil and then simmer on the very lowest heat for 2 to 2 and half hours.
When the time is up take the pan off the heat and leave the duck to cool. The meat should pull apart easily.

Keep the remaining oil for roasties etc.

The duck legs can now be preserved but I used mine for dinner tonight so when I needed them I just fried them in a hot dry pan till the skin got crispy and the meat was heated through.

Jamie's mag recommended serving them with Lentils and red onion gravy.
The lentils were fab, unctuous even - though i did read somewhere lately that one should not use the term "unctuous" in food blogging, well whether or not they were flippin' unctuous so the unctuous stays!!!!

THE LENTIL RECIPE!

For 2 generous servings

125g puy lentils
2 rashers smoked streaky bacon
Olive oil
Small red onion, finely chopped
Small carrot finely chopped
1 celery stick finely chopped
A bouquet garni
About 1/2 litre hot chicken stock
100g baby spinach
Red wine vinegar

Soak the lentils in cold water for about 10 mins, then drain well.
Add a little oil to a large pan and fry the bacon till golden.
Add the veg and cook over a medium heat till softened, but not coloured.
Add the bouquet garni, lentils and stock.
Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 45 mins till lentils are soft. Add some extra stock if too dry.
remove the bouquet garni from the lentils and stir in the spinach. Cook for a few more mins, taste and season with some salt, pepper, a dash of olive oil and the red vinegar.

Absolutely scrummylicious!!!!