Braised Duck ala Reuben Riffel

Reuben makes a delicious Braised duck served with a warm salad. And then we will show you an actual bathroom makeover. Reuben will then pair his dish with Bosman Family vineyard wines.

Ingredients

• Duck:
  • 4 large Duck Legs
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 8 French shallots, Halved lengthways if large.
  • 500ml (2cups) Chicken stock
  • 2 tbsp honey (Such as leatherwood)
  • ½ tsp each, ground cinnamon and ground coriander
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 1rosemary sprig, Leaves only
  • 1 orange, Segmented
  • 180 gm green olives
  • 30 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
• Side dish:
  • 250 gm small lentils 
  • 150 gm hazelnuts
  • 200g kidney beans
  • 2 bunches asparagus, trimmed
  • 1 cup each (loosely packed) mint and flat-leaf parsley, coarsely torn 
  • 5 radishes, thinly sliced on a mandolin
  • ½ romaine lettuce
• Hazelnut Dressing:
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) each hazelnut oil and olive oil
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar (see note)
  • ½ clove garlic, crushed

 Method

This braised duck has an interesting twist to the original Duck l’Orange with some unusual, but delicious flavours added.

Duck l’Orange, directly translated to orange duck, is a classic French dish, which is enjoyed worldwide.

1. Starting with the duck…
   1. Wash the duck legs with water and pat dry with paper towel.
   2. Heat a pan to just before smoking point and seal the duck to have a beautiful golden colour.
   3. Remove and keep aside.
   4. To heat the pan to just before smoking point helps the meat to not stick to the pan.
   5. In the same pan used for the Duck add the onions and roast them until golden, remove them from the pan and set aside until later.
   6. Remove the duck fat from the pan and Pour it into a bowl.
   7. Now add the stock to the pan and stir the bottom of the pan to loosen any caramelized bits.
   8. Now stir in the honey and add the ground cinnamon and coriander.
   9. Put the duck back in the pan skin side up then the onions, garlic, rosemary, orange segments, olives and the seasoning.
   10. Bring the mixture to the boil.
   11. As ever how you start a dish really determines the end result. A bit of patience and care is necessary at this stage.
   12. Put the pan covered into a preheated oven around 185 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes.
   13. Once it’s cooked remove from the oven and strain the sauce through a fine sieve, into a large bowl and keep the solids separate.
   14. Add the liquid back into a saucepan, together with the orange juice and reduce it slightly.
   15. Now add the reserved solids back into the saucepan and keep aside.
2. Now for the beetroots
   1. Wash the small beetroots and pop them in a pot of salted cold water. Cook for 10-15 minutes until they are just cooked.
   2. When they are done Drain the beetroots from the water and pull off the skins by rubbing them in a dry cloth.
   3. And keep it aside
3. Let’s get started with the warm salad
   1. Cook the lentils in boiling salted water until tender this should take around 25 minutes.
   2. When done, drain well and place the lentils into a large bowl.
   3. Place the hazelnuts into a pan and dry roast over high heat until the nuts start to colour and give off a toasty fragrance.
   4. Remove the nuts from the pan and roughly crush with a mortar and pestle. Keep it aside.
4. Now for the asparagus.
   1. Blanch the asparagus in boiling salted water for 30 seconds remove them from the water and drain.
   2. Next, Add together the beetroot, hazelnuts, radishes, asparagus, the beans, lentils, mint and parsley and keep it aside.
5. Dressing for the salad
   1. Mix together the hazelnut oil,  olive oil, juice of ½ a lemon, red wine vinegar, crushed garlic and drizzle over the salad.
6. Now to plate this delicious dish.
   1. Serve the duck ragout in a warm bowl with the warm salad to the side.

Wine Pairing

Reuben paired his dish (above) with the following Bosman wines:

• Club Selection Cinsaut 2012
• Optenhorst Chenin Blanc 2012