Recipe: Duck Confit & Duck Butter on Toast (Wild Garlic Duck Butter)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

Confit duck is so simple to make it’s unbelievable! It’s also a way to preserve you duck so it will last longer. You can do the legs plain without any additional herbs and spices and flavour them later or you can let them infuse with flavours for the dish you have in mind!

I like to add a lot of garlic, onions and a little chilli to the mix. These slow roast to great tasting warm kind of soft reduction with beautiful savoury flavour. When mixed with a little cream and butter this makes a great alternative spread!

for confit duck legs

2 duck legs

3 onions

1 bulb garlic

2 chillies

big sprig of rosemary

250ml vegetable stock

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Brown off the duck legs in a frying pan seasoning them well.

Place all ingredients into an oven prof pot with a lid.

The stock should almost cover the duck.

Top up with a little olive oil and place the oven at 150C for 2-3hours

for duck butter

80g confit garlic and onion (from confit duck legs)

80g creme fraiche

80g butter (s)

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Bring to boil, or microwave in favourite high sided microwave proof container.

Blitz to a rich confit duck flavoured sauce.

It’s not quite puree when it’s warm but it sets into a luxurious spread.

Great on toast or for croutons.

This is also a great base for wild garlic & duck butter . . . next post!

Recipe: Embezzlers Chicken (w/ Honey 'n' Mustard)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

I was rather pleased when I was introduced to this recipe. The chicken is portioned, which means it cooks quickly and has more surface area for the honey glaze to coat! It’s such a simple recipe and really very tasty! It goes rather, well with cardamom rice or roast potatoes depends on your mood! If you interested knowing how this recipe got it’s name why not come along to the supper club and ask me : )

In the mean time here’s the recipe. . .

ingredients (serves 2 - 4)

for the chicken

1 chicken (portioned)

2 onions (peeled, cut into eighths)

1 large bulb garlic (halved)

2 sprigs rosemary (bruised)

1 lemon (zest, pith cut off, sliced)

for the glaze

200g clear runny honey

100g english mustard

150g soy sauce

method

Preheat your oven to 180C.

Portion the chicken into quarters, then each quarter in half to give you eight pieces.

Use a high sided baking tray as it needs to hold the juices in! 

Prep the rest of the ingredients and place them all into the baking tray. 

Mix all the glaze ingredients together and pour over the chicken pieces.

Place into the oven, after 20 minutes toss the ingredients to re-coat them and return to the oven.

Repeat this process after another 20 minutes. 

After another 20 minutes the chicken should be cooked an the coating sticky, repeat once more if it needs it.

Finally add a little white wine and water (250ml) to the baking tray and mix it in to loosen the sticky sauce on the edges.

Mix them into the sauce.

Place the tray onto the table and let folk help themselves!

variations

This is also quite a nice way to do pork loin. Cut the loin into 4 inch pieces, sear it to brown and follow the above recipe turning it every 15minutes and removing it after 45minutes. Any longer and it will be very dry.

Recipe / Leftovers: Celeriac and Potato Rösti

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

Still learning from me mum! Perfect rostis!!

Cooking is a lot to do with confidence, and, usually, that comes with experience. A random accident, phone call or some sort of improvisation that takes your fancy - basically experimentation - although often a recipe wrecker can some yield a cracking result!!

But there are some recipes that no matter how many times you try them the result is still a turkey where no turkey was initially involved!! Sooner or later, crestfallen from the lack of progress, you give up on something maybe never to return to it again!! Filed as an Achilles heal : /

Röstis are that thing for me, they never come out, tried loads of recipes and they always come out like nasty, dry pancakes, boo! So you can imagine my flabergastedlyness when my mum turned out some stunners to go along with the leftover turkey pie I made over the Christmas break. 

There was turkey left over from Christmas day, and pastry from the sausage rolls, it was a no brainer, turkey pie! Angels singing in the background, hallelujah . . hallelujah, hallelujah : ) big smiles!

A quick bit of industrial espionage - in the shape of me getting me mum to show me how to make them - and here's the low down. . .

ingredients (makes 6 - 8 patties)
for the röstis
1 medium celeriac
2 medium potatoes
large pinch basil, thyme or rosemary (dried)
ground black pepper
2 tbsp plain flour (enough to bind shredded potato)

for the garnish
10 fresh basil leaves

apparatus / equipment
grater

röstis
Peel the potato and the celeriac and shred them using a food processor with a small grating disc.
Some folks squeeze the water out of the shreds using a tea towel, but it isn't necessary and the excess water helps bind the röstis together.
Put all ingredients, bar the flour, into a mixing bowl and season it.
Add half the flour and form into patties about 3/4 inch (1.8cm) thick and 2.5inches (6cm) in diameter.
If they don't hold together add a little more flour until they form the required patties.
Then shallow fry in vegetable oil on a medium heat, and I quote, "until golden brown and yummy!!"
Turn them once until they are crunchy and brown on the outside.
Serve immediately.

 

what could go wrong?
Try not to make them too "frizzy", the outer strands will burn - not a good look! - and pollute your oil.
Don't make them too flat or they will be dry, if they're around the 3/4 - 1 inch mark the centre will be soft and the outside crunchy!

to serve
Place on a platter and serve with scattered basil leaves and baby plum tomatoes for a light snack, or as a potato accompaniment to turkey pie, replacing chips or mash for example.

A little salad, turkey pie and a touch of wine! Bliss!

variations
Röstis are best made with root vegetables. If you fancy using a wetter root vegetable such as beetroot - which adds a lovely flavour to a rösti - remove as much liquid as possible and balance it with potato.