Well, the good news is it's delicious; parsnips and duck may not be quite tomatoes and basil, but not far from it as a sign of Godde's liking us. And the wine--an '06 Mendoza blend of Malbec, Merlot, and bits of Cab/Syrah, is outstanding: Cos de los Siete by Michel Rolland. Get it if ya can.
Pretty basic: cut up a 5 lb. duck and render surplus fat/ make cracklins. With a film of duck fat remaining (you will get about a cup for other purposes: confit, etc.) , salt and pepper, then add the duck pieces fat side down, and brown well on all sides: 15-20 minutes, over moderately high heat. (BIG pan: 12" at least) Season with ~ 1/4 t. salt, two branches fresh rosemary, and two bay leaves. Turn heat to low, add 1 1/2 lbs. Parsnips, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 pieces, two c. shallots peeled only, and two large heads divided but unpeeled garlic. Cover and steam for 30 minutes, or until vegetables are just tender. Scoop out vegetables and duck with strainer, draining latter on paper towels.
Serve with green salad/ mustardy vinigrette, and baguette. Eat duck with fingers, like fried chicken. Enjoy garlic with baguette and spit hulls on plate, as I have been doing for the last 30 minutes or so.
Pepin again, this time from *Jacques and Julia Cooking at Home*: pretty and big almost coffee table book, but with some good recipes, hints, etc. inside.
Serves 4 normal appetites, and who wants to encourage gluttony? You gotta know by now I losing that fight.
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5 comments:
Oh Johnieb... Wow.
Yeah; why has it taken me this long to live like this? heh.
Another nice thing to do with parsnips ---
Cut a pound or so of them in half through the equator, and the halves into quarters the long way, and then take out any nasty, really hard core in the middle -- if they're skinny you can leave the core.
Steam them til they're almost done.
Then melt 2 tbsp. of butter in a skillet, add 2 tbsp. each of brown sugar and red wine vinegar, and the parsnips, and cook them all (stirring once in a while) until the sauce is all sticky and the parsnips are browned a little.
Tell everyone else that parsnips cooked this way are Good For Them, so they won't want to share.
Johnieb, you should be a food writer. You can make my mouth water like no one else. You make me want to cook, and I've given that up.
Johnie,
I love parsnips and I like duck. I can almost taste the sweetness of the two blending together set off by the roasted garlic, and the refreshing salad on the side. Yumm. Ditto what granmère mimi said. Three cheers to Johnie the Chef/writer.
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