Saturday lunch treat - Slow-Roasted Duck with Cabbage and Gooseberry Jam

Picking the last of the season's gooseberries in the garden

A bit overgrown!

My rosemary bush

Having bought a couple of duck legs the other day I assumed I'd do my favoutite confit of duck recipe courtesy of Barney Desmazery http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2085/barneys-confit-of-duck. This is a simple and effective way of cooking the duck which always impresses dinner party guests when I serve it with a celeriac and walnut gratin. Obviously though I had to make use of another of my recipe books and decided on a recipe in The Masterchef Cookbook, 2010. http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Masterchef-Cookbook-DK/dp/1405351705/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344880079&sr=8-1

I must confess I have only ever tried one other recipe from this book on page 330, Chocolate Cappuccino cups, and they were a very rich and decadent affair after Sunday lunch a few months ago. The book is very extensive with thorough instructions such as how to extract the meat from a fresh lobster, stuffing a chicken breast, making meringues or creating the perfect crumble. It's not a book just for the confident book but one that can appeal to all abilities. Again I've got my eye on quite a few recipes to try at a later date such as Wild Mushroom Risotto with Truffle Brie (P.116), Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with Walnut Pesto and a cream and Basil Sauce (P114), Pear, Apple and Pistachio Tart with Clotted Cream Ice Cream (P.366), Thai Fish Cakes with Sweet Chilli Sauce (P.74) .... the list could go on!

This particular recipe (Slow-Roasted Duck with Cabbage and Gooseberry Jam) was cooked by comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli in the 2007 Celebrity final of Masterchef.

Slow-Roasted Duck with Cabbage and Gooseberry Jam (copyright 2010 Dorling  Kindersley)

4 duck legs

Steaming the cabbage

few sprigs of rosemary
few peppercorns
For the Gooseberry Jam
200g gooseberries, topped and tailed
100g demerara sugar
To serve
1 Savoy cabbage, roughly chopped
knob of butter
freshly ground black pepper

The prepared duck legs

The duck legs after roasting for 30 minutes

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Place the duck legs in a roasting tin and tuck in a few sprigs of rosemary and some peppercorns. Roast for 30 minutes and then turn the oven down to 150 degrees and cover with foil, Cook the duck for another 1hour 30 minutes, basting occasionally. Leave to rest.
2. Put the gooseberries and sugar in a saucepan with 2 tbsp water. Bring to the boil slowly. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove lid for the last 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The gooseberries will form a sticky, sweet jam
3. Steam or cook the cabbage for a few minutes until tender. Drain and toss in butter and pepper.
4. To serve: pile a spoonful of buttered cabbage in the centre of the plates and place the duck on top, with a spoonful of the rosemary-flavoured pan juices and a generous spoonful of the gooseberry jam on the side.

Preparing the gooseberry jam

Lunch is served!

The duck was very tender and fell off the bone! The gooseberry jam was a lovely contrast to the duck and Savoy cabbage. If anything, because my gooseberries were very ripe, I'd be inclined to add less sugar next time. My husband really enjoyed this meal  but I must confess, and the pictures don't show this, I did prepare some saute potatoes to go with it! However, this is a wonderful dinner party dish as most of it can be left to its own devices- I'd prepare the gooseberry jam ahead and just reheat -  and  the whole dish would be fine served with a number of other courses (or maybe we're just a bit greedy!)


Next time: I've promised my daughter and son that we'd make homemade versions of their favourite biscuits, so as they say watch this space!