Confit duck with lentils and sugar-glazed carrots
Slow-cooked duck legs are served with creamy lentils and sugar-glazed carrots.
Ingredients
For the confit duck
- 4 duck legs, knuckle removed
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 star anise
- 2cm/¾in knob ginger, peeled and chopped
- 6 juniper berries
- 5 black peppercorns
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, bruised
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- duck fat, to cover
- 4 tbsp coarse salt
- 50g/1¾oz heritage kale or normal kale, steamed, to serve
For the lentils
- 75g/2½oz butter
- 100g/3½oz sliced Bayonne ham or other cured ham, diced
- 1 celery stick, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1 rosemary sprig, leaves picked and chopped
- 200g/7oz pardina lentils or other brown lentils
- 1 litre/1¾ pint good-quality chicken stock
- handful babyleaf spinach
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 100g/3½oz full-fat crème fraïche
For the peppery carrots
- knob butter
- pinch sugar
- pinch wild black pepper, such as Voatsiperifery (or ground black pepper and ground star anise)
- baby carrots, with tops
- salt
Method
To make the confit duck, place the duck legs in a deep baking dish and sprinkle each leg evenly with a scant dessertspoon of the salt. Add the cinnamon, star anise, ginger, juniper, peppercorns, shallot, garlic and bay leaves to the dish and leave to chill in the fridge for about 12 hours or overnight. Wash off the salt and pat dry.
Preheat the oven to 150C/130C Fan/Gas 2. Gently heat the duck fat in a large casserole dish and submerge the duck legs completely in the fat. Transfer to the oven and cook for 2½–3 hours or until very tender. Carefully remove the duck legs from the fat, reserving the fat, and place on a roasting tray, draining off any excess fat. Leave to cool and then gently press the duck legs to ensure the skin will be evenly crispy when frying later.
Meanwhile, to make the lentils, heat the butter in a frying pan and fry the ham. Add the celery, carrot, onion and rosemary and fry for 10 minutes, or until soft. Add the lentils and stock and cook until the lentils are soft with a very slight bite. Stir in the spinach, mustard and crème fraïche.
To make the carrots, heat the butter in a frying pan and add the sugar, wild pepper, a splash of water and some salt. Add the carrots and then keep adding enough water to steam the carrots until they are tender and glazed with the sugar mixture.
Heat some of the duck fat in a frying pan and fry the duck legs over a high heat. Add the duck legs, skin-side down, and fry for 2–3 minutes, or until the skin is crisp and the duck meat is warmed through.
Serve the confit duck with the lentils, carrots and steamed kale.
