Name: Confit duck tostadas
Prep time: 12 h
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 4 tbsp white vinegar; 2 tsp sugar, or to taste; 2 red chillies, finely chopped; ¼ white cabbage, finely shredded; ¼ red cabbage, finely shredded; 25g/1oz fresh flatleaf parsley; 2 garlic cloves, roasted; 2 spring onions, trimmed; 1 sweet potato, cubed and roasted; 400g tin cooked lentils; 1 red chilli, finely chopped; 1 orange, zest only; 200g tin prunes in juice, drained; salt and freshly ground black pepper; 250g/9oz dates, stones removed; 3 red chillies, roughly chopped; 1 ripe avocado, roughly mashed; 1 lemon, juice only; ½ lime, juice only; 1 tbsp olive oil; salt and freshly ground black pepper; 8 flour tortillas; oil, for frying; 800g tin duck confit

Prepare: overnight
Cook: 30 mins to 1 hour
Serve: Serves 4
Dietary: Dairy-free Egg-free Nut-free

This Mexican dish uses a range of exciting elements, including confit duck, pickled cabbage and mashed avocado to create delicious tostadas.

By Andi Oliver

From Saturday Kitchen

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Ingredients

For the curtido

4 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp sugar, or to taste
2 red chillies, finely chopped
¼ white cabbage, finely shredded
¼ red cabbage, finely shredded

For the sweet potato and lentils

25g/1oz fresh flatleaf parsley
2 garlic cloves, roasted
2 spring onions, trimmed
1 sweet potato, cubed and roasted
400g tin cooked lentils
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 orange, zest only
200g tin prunes in juice, drained
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the chilli date purée

250g/9oz dates, stones removed
3 red chillies, roughly chopped

For the avocado mash

1 ripe avocado, roughly mashed
1 lemon, juice only
½ lime, juice only
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the tortillas

8 flour tortillas
oil, for frying

To serve

800g tin duck confit

Method

For the curtido, place the vinegar in a large bowl and stir in the sugar. Add the chillies and then stir in the cabbage. Cover the bowl and leave to rest in the fridge for at least a day.
For the sweet potato and lentils, blitz the parsley, roast garlic and spring onion in a food processor until it forms a purée. Add the purée, along with all of the other ingredients, to a bowl and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
For the chilli date purée, blitz the dates and chillies in a food processor. Gradually add some water until a paste is formed. The consistency you are looking for should be thin enough to squeeze out of a tube but thick enough to maintain its shape.
For the avocado mash, combine the avocado with the juice from the lemon and lime. Mash again until almost smooth. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a small serving bowl. Cover with the olive oil to prevent discolouration.
To prepare the tortillas, cut small circles from the tortillas, you can usually get around two per tortilla. Heat a shallow amount of oil in a deep saucepan until very hot. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Carefully add the tortilla circles to the hot oil and cook for about 45 seconds, or until crisp and golden brown. Transfer using a slotted spoon to a plate lined with kitchen paper.
Serve the curtido, sweet potato mixture, chilli date purée, avocado mash and duck confit in small bowls. Allow people to construct the tostadas using the fried tortillas and all of the ingredients.

Confit duck tostadas