MY FAVOURITE SATURDAY - COOKING, DINNER WITH FRIENDS

Just 6 of us for dinner tonight but was planning on spending some time at Joseph's regatta on Saturday, so had to plan something that was not too time consuming on the day.  Decided on SLOW-COOKED DUCK LEGS, have done these before but not for a  while. I had cut the recipe out of the NY Times many years ago, but cannot find it on the site so here it is:

• Combine 1 tsp each of ground allspice, dried thyme, ground cumin with
• 1/4 tsp each of ground ginger, ground cloved and grated nutmeg with
• 1 tsp crushed juniper berries

mix well and sprinkle over both sides of

• 8 duck legs

rub well into the flesh, place in dish large enough to hold them in one layer then sprinkle with

• 4 TSPS kosher salt

cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge for 24 hours.
Heat oven to 300 degrees F.
Remove legs from dish and carefully wipe with Bounty to remove all salt.
Place skin side up in a 3 inch deep baking dish, in single layer.  Add:

• 1 Bayleaf
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled but whole

Cover tightly with foil and cook for 2.5 - 3 hours.
Remove from pan, can be made ahead to this point.
Pre heat broiler, place legs on rack in roasting pan and broil about 10 inches away from element for about 5 minutes, til skin crisps and they are heated through.  Couple of notes: I had fresh thyme so used that, sprinkled on the leaves just before baking; I did not have juniper berries so simply left them out, interested to see how it could be even better with them! I always use the full 3 hours but you have to be careful as you take them out of the pan as the meat is literally falling off the bone. I use a spatula and put them straight onto the rack that they will go under the broiler on.



I served this with a green pepper Risotto, taken from a wonderful book I was given years ago:
Risotto by Judith Barrett and Norma Wasserman

I chose this particular risotto because it is not too rich, has no cream in it. The pairing worked well, and I enjoy having the girls in the kitchen stirring risotto, just before we sit down to eat. Our meal was completed by a delicious salad, provided by Charlotte, of mache, endive, roasted beets and pecans, dressed with a blood orange vinaigrette, perfect accompaniment to rich and fatty duck!

Finished the evening with some delicious cheese and the Lemon Curd Pavlova that I made many times before.  I did the meringue and lemon curd the previous evening, then put it together just before serving.  Alan had done the shopping and picked up raspberries instead of blueberries by mistake, but it turned out to be a happy accident, it was a little different, looked and tasted great!  In fact I just had a leftover slice as I was writing this!