Duck Confit Risotto

I had not realized until my sisters visit from Texas these past few weeks...she had never tried risotto, or even duck. I was glad when she asked me to show her how to make a few dishes from her last visit. It would include a few ingredients she also had not tried before.

Here is a recipe for Duck confit risotto I have made. Generally at a local market Wegman's you can purchase duck fat. Simply cover duck legs with this fat and chill over night. Cook in 200 degree oven until meat falls off bones. Using the duck meat and fat in making the risotto and sauteed vegetables, topped off with duck breast you will have made a delicious meal for a food exploring newbie like my little sister.

Next she wants a lesson in goat cheese gnocchi with my lemon chicken...we might even throw in a watermelon martini!

Market Finds- A Purist's Week

Most of you probably feel the same way I do in the summer. I love farmers markets. We even visit them while on vacation if we can find one. Could it be appealing because one can walk amongst natures bounty, memorial's welcoming of summer, possibly meeting a neighbor, or a reason to meet friends out and about? Live music, or not plays while you sit and nibble on a few things you purchased. Enjoying it with a loved one like your children can be educational.

I find that once I see what is available my mind begins to reel with ideas for the weeks meals for hubby and I. My creative kitchen juices begin to flow like coffee houses to the student. The draw back is...seasonal choices might be limited, and it all ends around Labor Day. For years now I have been fascinated with purist's I have met while on my own market quest. My own mother (until cheap can good era hit big time) would feed their families for a whole seven days, and with minimal fuzzy science projects making into the trash. The Saturday morning visit to the butcher for a whole hen, and ground beef would also complete her meager purchases for the week.

I remember we would come home from the Dallas Farmers Market with more than a full basket. The ones they used to collect bushels of peaches, or apples. I believe you could either have them, or purchase them for your return visits. Once home we would sit on the kitchen floor, or out on the porch; then we were instructed to shuck corn, snap peas, and eat a peach or two to hold back the hunger before lunch. Back then of course there were miles of farmers and farms lined up across rural America. No matter how much we want those days back, we have to make due with what is offered.

(Local figs that went into a cobbler...)























Lately you may come home with only a few things due to a lack of vendors and farms in your area. From my experience rules do vary in the markets. Our neighborhood market board committee did only allow the actual farmers living in the area to rent space, and there are less than a dozen of them. Which seems only fair, but the public may find such puny offerings of no interest when they can go to a larger grocer and get everything all at once. Ready made foods have not been allowed in the past, like breakfast, and that could be a great draw. If farm yields are low and you happen to come late morning you might find little or no choices from your favorite vendors.

Between the two in our area you are almost always guaranteed to see tomatoes, onions, potatoes, mushrooms, sweet corn, and some kind of fruit or two, or three. Some of the farmers experiment with crops and I have even found leeks. We have one that opens on Saturday, and one on Sunday, so there are more choices. Local artists could add a flair, and increase traffic to the farmers; allowing them to increase sales, and their farms would continue to thrive without a for sale sign being seen off the local routes.

With my work schedule over the years and not having a Saturdays off, hubby has been the one who would go out to the local farmers markets. He loves the local Griggs Town Farm Poussin, and the odd mystery ingredients he finds now and then. As of late my schedule has allowed me to return to the summer market, and I am enjoying it. Non-produce related item shopping has also reduced greatly over the past months in my house. Not because we need to cut back financially, but because I wanted to add a little something extra to my challenge.

August through September do allow for extra abundance as far as produce yields, but can you feed a family the whole week? I had to try the purist way of life.

(Local organic heirloom tomatoes...sorry bad photo, but too late we ate them!)



















Buying local can be a challenge without supplementing fruits and vegetables from our regular grocery stores, but I managed to cook the whole week with fruits, vegetables, and meats we bought between the two markets. I baked bread, made my own pasta, and even some refreshing limeade drinks.

(Local zucchini that were stuffed, and then stuffed us...)




















I am doing a wine and dinner pairing this Saturday for sixteen, and we intentionally hit Philadelphia this past week so we could visit the Italian Market off 9th and Washington for some choice ingredients (like Wild Game). We made a weekend of it with our friends, Bob and Adrienne. Of course its not all local, organic, or even a purist's paradise, but there are plenty of artisan foods made on the spot. I wanted to see if we could keep up the purist's momentum for my Pinot Noir event, and our own weeks menu.

This would be fun if someone else could do this and let me know how it worked for you...

Farmers Market Roasted Vegetable Medley Salad

2 beets, cleaned and quartered (skins scrubbed well, and left on)
6 small potatoes, cleaned and quartered
1 fennel bulb, cleaned and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 onion, medium slice
1 bunch string beans
1 bunch of wild garlic
fresh chopped herbs of choice

Olive Oil drizzled, and toss
Salt/Pepper to taste

Roast for about 40 minutes, or until vegetables are fork tender. Remove and let cool. Add 2 tablespoons lemon dill vinegar (or vinegar of choice), and place on top of fresh spinach salad.

(Local Sekel Pears that will go into a recipe soon...)

Duck Confit- Oyster Mushroom Risotto

One of the best experiences I have had with risotto at restaurants was at Phicoline's in NYC, possibly as far back as 1999. I was in one of those phases of 'try' everything and all things risotto. I had made it on my own, but had not quite captured its true essence; that is until I had Phicoline's Duck Confit Risotto. I even made hubby take me back twice more, if we were in town for another bowl; it proved to be consistently delicious!

















This past Sunday hubby went out to the market for me, as I was trying to keep my foot up, and was in considerable pain. How did you cook you ask, well for that I will endure the process, but had the help of a rolling office chair. I did however ask hubby to get the meat department at Wegmen's to cut up the D'artangan whole duck, but he missed that instruction, so I decided to split it breast side up; removed enough of the rib cage to push it down flat into my roasting pan; covered it in salt and seasonings; let it sit for a while, and then cover with EVO. Place into a preheated oven, turning it down to 250 and began rendering the duck fat for my cassoulet, and risotto post.

















That duck I had photographed may have looked big, but believe me; it had more skin than meat. Hubby got a nice piece of duck breast for his cassoulet, and some for his lunch; otherwise take the meat off of the bone, and place down into the fat. Refrigerate. You may store this for up to two months, and must be at least one inch under oil and duck fat mixture(using glass jar is appropriate). Reserve some gelee for making risotto.

Sauteing vidalia onions, herbs, Merlot salt, pepper in five tablespoons of duck fat; I began the base for the risotto. Place the bones into two cups water to make a duck stock; add at least two cups of stock to your sauteed onions, and turn to medium high heat. Then add one cup of duck gelee from bottom of roasting pan. When it begins to boil add two cups of risotto grain. Also adding some chopped shredded duck, one cup of chopped oyster mushrooms, and more salt and pepper if needed. Staying close by, stirring as the risotto soaks up the stock, and carefully adding a half cup as needed until it is done.

I have never really timed this process. I just do other things while I am watching over the pot. Cutting up some sweet potato sticks along with zucchini wedges I make a ginger pear vinegar water bath for both. Letting them soak to give me a crisp bite once I fry them in some duck fat as a side.















Now that the risotto is cooked I add one cup of heavy cream, and stir. Taste for seasoning purposes, and then I stir in some left over piece of Camembert cheese. Cover and begin frying your vegetables. I saved some of the oyster mushrooms for a little garnish, and served up a side of the extra duck for hubby to enjoy.

















CONFIT INFORMATION: The restaurants, Chefs I have worked with that serve duck confit made a considerable amount on a weekly basis. Once it is preserved in the fat, one inch over the meat; it will keep for weeks, and even a few months. Duck confit is used for many dishes where I worked, and the meat shredded and covered in the fat was served on a charcutterie dish I was responsible for.

'Confit' is generic French for 'preserve'; although you have to add EVO to creat a considerable amount of fat, and salt it to preserve the meat (has to be at least once inch above meat during storage). Legs are typically and traditionally used for this dish in Southwestern France. To many of us, we think of 'Duck confit' as a concept, or cooking method, because that is what we generally are told when asking waitstaff from the menu.

New American cuisine that began appearing on menus, such as Tomato confit, works on the same concept; slow cooked tomatoes in their own juices. You still have to add oil to make up for the lack of fat. Some recipes like rendering pork lard call for pan rendering small pieces, but you also can boil it in some amount of water to pull out the fat, but simply using EVO along with duck fat is simply the best method..


















What is duck confit?

You may have seen duck confit, or confit de canard, on a menu or in a can and wondered what this specialty food from France was all about.

In France 'Confit' is often a duck but it can be a goose, turkey or even pork. The meat is cooked in its own fat before being canned and preserved in it as well. If you ever saw the meat covered in this fat for yourselves, well it may not look too appetizing at this point, but you are just minutes away from enjoying a delicious gourmet dish. Many specialty markets carry small cans of this already prepared, but make sure you look to see if it contains 'duck.

This fashion of preparing a duck is considered a specialty of the Gascony region in south-west France, reputed for its foie gras and Armagnac brandy as well.

Someone mentioned in a comment on my recent 'duck' post, "Is duck greasy"; well making confit can be messy, but the duck fat is worth the effort. I recommend purchasing duck breast if this method of cooking it does not sound like your cup of tea. Use a soy ginger glaze under, and on the outside of the skin, just just simply sear it in a pan, or place it on the grill!
















Here is a closer look, just in case someone out there does not believe it is 'dark meat' duck...