Wine Braised Duck With Lentils And Winter Vegetables Food

WINE-BRAISED DUCK WITH LENTILS AND WINTER VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Trim the duck legs, keeping the skin intact but removing any extraneous fat. Lay them in one layer on a baking sheet and season generously on both sides with salt and pepper.
• Heat a large skillet or Dutch oven on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Add duck legs, skin-side down, and cook until nicely browned, about 10 minutes. (The legs will render a fair amount of fat as they cook.) Flip and cook for about 5 minutes more, until lightly browned. Remove legs from pan and set aside.
• Pour off all but 3 tablespoons fat from the pan (reserve it for another use). Place pan back on the stove over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery, salt lightly, and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in bay leaf, thyme sprig, fennel seed and allspice. Continue to cook, stirring, until vegetable mixture is lightly browned, about 5 minutes more.
• Add tomato paste and flour to vegetable mixture and stir well to coat. Cook for a minute or so, then add chicken broth and wine and bring to a simmer. Return duck legs to pan in one layer, skin-side up. (The liquid will not completely cover the legs.)
• Cover pan and bake for about 45 minutes, until legs are tender when probed with the tip of a paring knife.
• Cook the lentils: Pick over lentils for rocks and debris, then rinse well. Place in a saucepan with a good pinch of salt. Using the cloves, pin the bay leaf to the onion. Add to the pot along with thyme sprig. Cover lentils with water by about 2 inches and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered with lid ajar, until tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Taste often so that lentils are neither under nor over-cooked. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
• When duck legs are cooked, remove from the oven and reduce the heat to 225 degrees. Transfer duck legs to an ovenproof serving dish, cover, and keep warm in the oven. Pour braising liquid into a saucepan. Spoon off any fat that rises to the surface and discard. Simmer braising liquid over medium heat until slightly thickened. Pour liquid over duck legs in the serving dish.
• Meanwhile, cook the vegetables: Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add carrots, celery root and parsnips. Simmer until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes, then drain and toss gently with butter. Sprinkle with half the parsley and chives.
• To serve, place a duck leg, some lentils and a spoonful of vegetables on each plate. Spoon sauce over duck leg and finish with more parsley and chives. Alternatively, pass everything on platters, family-style.

DUCK LEGS BRAISED WITH RED WINE AND LIME

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Season the duck with salt and pepper. Place a stew pot over medium-high heat, and add the oil. When hot, add the duck, skin side down, and cook until golden brown. Rotate the legs and cook for 30 seconds more; transfer to a plate.
• Turn the heat to medium-low, add the onions and a little salt and cook covered, stirring occasionally, until they are softened, about 15 minutes. Stir in the lime zest and serrano chili. Add the red wine, 1/2 cup of water and a pinch of salt. Nestle the duck legs, skin side up, on top of the onions. Bring to a boil, and then cover, place in the oven and cook until the duck is tender but still toothsome, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Transfer the duck and 1/2 cup of the onions to a plate; cover to keep warm. Purée the remaining onions, the cooking liquid and lime juice in a blender. Adjust to taste with salt and lime juice. Stir in half of the cilantro.
• Mound the reserved onions in the centers of 4 plates. Put a duck leg on top of each, and pour the sauce around the duck. Sprinkle the remaining cilantro over each plate. Serve as a hearty appetizer.

RED-WINE-BRAISED DUCK LEGS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. and season duck legs with salt and pepper.
• In a heavy kettle just large enough to hold legs in one layer, cook legs, skin sides down, over moderately high heat 10 to 15 minutes, or until skin in scrip and mahogany colored, removing fat from kettle as it is rendered with a metal bulb baster (or very carefully tilting the kettle and spooning off). Turn legs over and cook until browned on the other side, about 2 minutes, transferring to a plate.
• Pour off fat from kettle and deglaze with wine, scraping up brown bits. Boil wine until reduced to a syrup and add garlic, thyme and 1/2 cup dried fruit. Return duck legs, skin sides up, to kettle and add broth. Bring mixture to a simmer and braise, uncovered, in oven 2 hours, or until legs are very tender. Transfer legs to a platter and keep warm.
• Pour braising mixture into a 1-quart measuring cup and let stand until fat rises to the top. Skim off fat and pour liquid through a sieve into a saucepan, pressing hard on solids. Boil liquid until reduced by about one third and slightly thickened and add remaining 1/2 cup dried fruit. Simmer sauce until fruit is softened, about 5 minutes, and season with salt and pepper.
• Serve duck legs with sauce and noodles or roasted and mashed potatoes.

LENTILS BRAISED IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Peel the carrot and garlic cloves; chop finely with the celery, onion, and bacon, or process everything until finely chopped.
• Heat the oil in a large pan, and add the chopped vegetables and bacon; cook them over a gentle heat until soft, which will take up to 10 minutes.
• Tip the lentils into the pan and stir them around to get slicked with the oil, and then add the bay leaves and dijon mustard.
• Pour in the red wine and the water, or enough water so that the lentils are just covered in liquid.
• Bring to a boil and cover; simmer for about 30 minutes or until just tender.
• When the lentils are cooked, check the seasoning and add salt if needed and dress with a little olive oil as you serve them.
• Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley over the top, if desired.