Braised Duck With Apples Calvados And Sour Cream Food

BRAISED DUCK WITH APPLES, CALVADOS AND SOUR CREAM

Steps:

• Dredge duck pieces with flour and shake off excess. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add duck pieces, skin side down, and fry slowly until nicely browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Turn and brown other side. Remove duck and reserve.
• Pour off all but 2 to 4 tablespoons of fat in the skillet, add onion and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned. Add apples, sugar, liver and giblets. Cook, stirring, 3 minutes more. Add thyme, sage, stock, salt, pepper and Calvados. Bring to a boil and return duck pieces to skillet. Cover securely and cook over very low heat for 1 hour, or until quite tender but not falling off the bone.
• Remove duck pieces to a deep serving platter and skim off fat from mixture in skillet. Add sour cream, check seasonings, reheat without boiling and pour over duck. Serve with mashed potatoes.

ROASTED AND BRAISED DUCK WITH SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prick the duck all over with a fork, then sprinkle it with salt and pepper and place it in a large, deep, ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven. Roast the duck for about 1 1/2 hours, checking occasionally to make sure it is browning steadily. (If the duck is barely browning, increase the heat by 50 degrees; if it seems to be browning too quickly, reduce the heat slightly.) When it is nicely browned and has rendered a great deal of fat, pour off all but a few tablespoons of the fat and transfer the pan to the top of the stove.
• Scatter the sauerkraut around the duck, then sprinkle it with paprika, moisten it with the wine, and tuck the bay leaves in. Turn the heat to low, and cover the pan. Simmer for about 15 minutes, then stir and put some of the sauerkraut on top of the duck.
• Cook another 15 minutes or so, until the duck is quite tender. Carve and serve.

BAKED APPLES WITH CALVADOS SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/140C fan/gas 4. (When cooked with the fan, it's better to use a lower equivalent heat as the apple skins can burst before the apples are cooked if the heat is too intense.) Trim the bases off any apples that do not sit flat, without removing too much. Insert a small knife about a quarter way down the apple through to the core. Insert the corer at the base of the apple and slide up to the incision, twist the corer, then remove the core, keeping the apple's stalk intact.
• Brush a shallow ovenproof dish with some of the melted butter, then sprinkle over some of the sugar. Brush each apple with the remaining butter, then roll them in the remaining caster sugar. Place the apples in the dish and bake for 30 mins.
• Meanwhile, for the sauce, heat the sugar in a small heavy-based pan over a medium heat until it reaches a dark golden caramel. Stir in the butter and the diced apple. Cook for 30 secs without moving the pan (use a spoon to cover the diced apples in the caramel mixture). Pour in the apple juice and bring to the boil. Stir in the diluted arrowroot, a little at a time, until it has thickened slightly, then remove from the heat and add the Calvados.
• For the garnish, toss the bread with half of the icing sugar, then scatter onto a baking tray. Mix the nuts, Calvados and remaining icing sugar together until well combined, then spread onto the same baking tray, mixing with the bread. Bake for 8-10 mins, stirring halfway through, or until the nuts and bread cubes are golden brown. Set aside to cool. 5 To serve, place one baked apple into the centre of each of 4 serving plates. Spoon the Calvados sauce into the centre and around the apple, then sprinkle over the toasted garnish.

POULET à LA NORMANDE

Steps:

• Pat the chicken very dry with paper towels, and season well with salt and pepper. Heat the fat in a large Dutch oven or deep skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Brown the chicken, in batches if necessary, skin side down until deep golden, 6 to 8 minutes, then flip, and sear the other side until golden, another 3 minutes.
• If flambéing: Make sure there is nothing flammable near or above your stove. Gently warm the Calvados in a saucepan over medium heat. When the chicken is well browned, protect your hand, and use a long kitchen match to light the liquor on fire, then carefully pour it into the chicken pan. The flame can shoot over 2 feet high, so be careful. Cook until the flame subsides. If not flambéing: Once the chicken is browned, turn off the heat, and add the Calvados. When the sizzling subsides, turn the heat on to medium low, bring the liquid to a simmer and cook for 4 minutes to evaporate the alcohol.
• Add the cider and onions, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat down to a very gentle simmer. Quickly peel and core the apples, and cut them into 1 1/2-inch chunks, and place them on top of the chicken. Cover the pan, and cook, checking occasionally to ensure the liquid is maintaining a gentle simmer, not boiling, until the chicken is just cooked through, 35-40 minutes.
• Remove the chicken, onions and apples to a platter, and cover. Make a slurry with the cornstarch and 3 tablespoons of cold water. Stir this into the braising liquid, and bring to a simmer for 1 minute, until thickened. Stir in the crème fraîche, and season the sauce with salt to taste, replace the chicken, onions and apples in the sauce and serve with crusty bread and a salad.