Said’s (very different) Duck L’Orange

Ingredients:

Ingredient Quantity for 8 portions

Duck confit legs (sous-vide) 8 legs

Duck fat 120 g (for potatoes and finishing)

Potatoes (firm variety) 1.6 kg

Garlic 4 cloves

Flat parsley 1 small bunch

Frisée lettuce 2 heads

Grapes 200 g

Butter 30 g

Sugar (for gastrique) 60 g

Red wine vinegar 80 ml

Red wine 500 ml

Orange zest 1 orange

Orange juice 100 ml

Cloves 3

Cinnamon stick 1 small

Fresh ginger 10 g

Nutmeg 1 pinch

Dijon mustard 2 tsp

Olive oil 80 ml

Fresh sage 6–8 leaves

Salt & black pepper to taste

Making: (Interview-style)

“The dish I chose is a very traditional French preparation from the South-West: duck confit with pommes sarladaises and frisée salad, served with a mulled wine inspired sauce. It’s rustic, seasonal and very typical of French countryside cooking. Confit de canard has been part of French cuisine for centuries. It comes mainly from the regions of Gascony and the Dordogne, where duck was preserved in its own fat during winter. Pommes sarladaises are named after the town of Sarlat, and they are traditionally cooked in duck fat with garlic and parsley. I like pairing it with a slightly festive sauce inspired by mulled wine, which works really well with the richness of the duck. For one portion, I use one duck confit leg. If the confit is already prepared, I gently warm it in a pan or in the oven to melt some of the fat and then roast it until the skin becomes crispy and golden. For the pommes sarladaises, I take about two medium potatoes. I peel them and slice them into thick rounds.

I cook them slowly in a pan with a spoon of duck fat until they become golden and tender. At the end I add finely chopped garlic and fresh parsley, season with salt and pepper, and let everything cook together for another minute so the garlic perfumes the potatoes. The mulled wine sauce starts with a small gastrique. I melt a spoon of sugar in a saucepan until it becomes a light caramel, then I carefully deglaze it with a splash of red wine vinegar. After that I add a glass of red wine and let it reduce gently. To give it the mulled wine character, I add orange zest, a little orange juice, a clove, a small piece of cinnamon stick, a slice of fresh ginger and a pinch of nutmeg. The sauce reduces slowly until it becomes glossy and aromatic. Before finishing, I strain it and adjust the seasoning. The result is a sweet-spiced sauce that balances the richness of the duck.

To accompany the sauce, I quickly sauté a small handful of grapes in a little butter until they just start to soften. They bring a subtle sweetness that works well with the spices. The salad is a simple frisée salad dressed with a light mustard vinaigrette. I mix a teaspoon of Dijon mustard with red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper, and I like to add a touch of finely chopped sage for a slightly herbal note. To plate the dish, I place the crispy duck confit on the plate, add the golden pommes sarladaises on the side, a small nest of frisée salad, and finish with the mulled wine sauce and the sautéed grapes around the duck. It’s a simple dish, but very French in spirit: rustic ingredients, slow cooking, and a balance between richness, acidity and aromatics.

Oh! I forgot to add the duck stock. You reduce the duck stock and combine with the mulled wine base, and finish to reduce until right consistency.”