For a second summer, I made my way across the French countryside, spellbound. From Cadenet in Provence to Marseilles, curving along the Mediterranean coast to Montpellier, up to Toulouse following the main trunk line, hopping off & on, changing trains, feeling the journey take a hold. At Gourdon, I stepped off onto the platform. It was 8 o'clock, a mild evening, blue sky & a warm breeze. Arrived in the Lot region, the train clicity-clacking off on its way to Paris, I stood there alone; I was warm, I was in France. Happiness.
Last summer I spent several weeks here with my mate Nico. He'd wanted to show me a France I'd never seen, & succeeded in doing so. I love France. Having places to go & people there to see, maybe stay with a while, it all helps, no matter where you are. This part of France though is a little more than that, it's become a home for Nic's clan, & by extension, it felt a little like home when I climbed off the train & found myself in familiar surroundings. With Al & Sal's place only 10kms away, I stood there exhilarating in standing there & I decided the walk would be a fine thing indeed. Shouldering my ruck sack I set off for La Brugue, out of town & into the French countryside.
In this region of France, duck is a specialty. Last year
24aug'12 I blogged about
foie gras, making the most of this region's considerable industry to become as learned as possible on the subject. This time, my taste bud settings were already switched to duck before the train arrived. Quite a long time before, actually. As it happens, Al has a couple of duck dishes that enjoy a significant following round those parts. Last time I was at La Brugue we had
duck breast, pan seared & braised in a white bordeaux & damson sauce, which led to my
07sep'12 post. Needless to say, when the matter of what to have for dinner came up in conversation I took the opportunity to suggest, perhaps we eat duck, & Al cooks?? While I write notes & take photos?? It goes without saying really, Al was thrilled with the idea.
.
Before starting, a couple of things you'll need to prepare:
for the chicken stock:
the frame & leftovers from last night's roast chicken
1/2 an onion, 1 or 2 garlic gloves, a few peppercorns, a bay leaf, a cpl glasses of white wine
then...
*in a saucepan, you cover the bones with wine & top up with water if need be, throw in all the rest
*you bring it to the boil, then lower to a good simmer, & leave it for 2 to 3 hours
*strain the bones etc out & discard, then continue to simmer until the volume is reduced by half
>this is what chicken stock means, & this chicken stock is good to go
for my compote (Sal's is also home made):
a quince, peeled & cored, 2 rhubarb sticks, a handful of strawbs, 3 or 4 plums, cut into pieces, figs
then...
*in a saucepan, the quince, in pieces, a cup of sugar
*add a vanilla pod, 2 or 3 cloves, a glass of white wine
*simmer gently for about an hour, the quince should be cooking nicely
*weigh out the fruit & add a little more sugar if necessary (I prefer a little tart)
*simmer on a medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring often, til it the fruit is cooked
>ready when it starts to look jammy, what you've probably got there is jam
for the duck itself:
we were four & two large breasts were enough for us, the skin scored in crosshatch pattern,
several garlic cloves, just enough chicken fat skimmed from the stock to lubricate the pan
then...
*get a cast iron pan nice & hot, drop in the chicken fat, then the garlic, pinch of salt, toss it about
*break a few sprigs of rosemary into the pan & shake about with the garlic & salt
*lay the duck breast in the hot pan, skin side down, & let it brown, a few minutes, maybe about 5
*turn the breasts over, skin side up now, tossing the garlic in the pan about too
now you start to build the sauce...
*with the duck still in the pan, drop in a big spoon or two of the compote, move it about the pan & let the sugars begin to caramelise a little, though be careful not to let it burn
*a good slug of red wine at this stage, a glass at least, to deglaze the pan, & the same of chicken stock
*put a lid on the pan, tinfoil tightly covering if no lid, lower the flame & braise the duck breast for 6 or 7 minutes
*remove the breast, wrap the foil, leave to the side to rest, another 6 or 7 minutes, before carving
*in the mean time, turn your sauce up & reduce it by 2/3. The sauce should deepen beautifully in colour to a dark ruby red as the liquid reduces, leaving you with a nice thick slightly chunky sauce which you can either serve as is or strain & pass through a sieve to make it smooth.
A word on carving...
>The meat wants to rest somewhere round the same length of time it was cooked, so when it comes to resting times, I'd be resting this duck for about 10 minutes.
>But it needs to stay warm during this time, so take it off the hot pan & onto something warm,
wrapping it in foil is one solution,
or placing it in a warm oven with the door slightly open, on on a shelf above the hobs...
>When carving the meat, sufficiently rested there will be no blood pool, & the colour should be a nice even pink, since the meat has had time to relax after the intensity of extreme heat, & the blood has eased its way back throughout the piece.
To serve...
We simply sliced the duck in fairly thin pieces, fanned them out in layers in a dish & poured the sauce over. We're in the country here, no need to pass the sauce; ours has all the chunks of garlic & pieces of fruit, sprigs of rosemary, & that's how I like it.
Sal organised a side dish of potatoes, dug from the garden outside I should add, steaming them then tossing them in pieces with butter, & a lettuce leaf salad.
Catching the last of the sun, sitting down to enjoy another meal on the gravel patio just outside the kitchen door.
