confit de canard – Cook and Drink

Parmentier de Canard

15 October 2026

In the third year of the French Republic (1795) La Cuisinière Républicaine (The Republican Cook) was published. The book teaches the simple way to prepare potatoes, along with some advice on how to store them. The book was published or written by Madame Mérigot. If she was the author, then she was the first woman to write a cookbook in French.

Focusing on potatoes seems to make a lot of sense, after all in 1795 France was at war with most (if not all) European countries and it suffered from food riots and famine. On the other hand, until 1772 it was forbidden in France to cultivate potatoes because they could cause various diseases.

In 1763 Antoine-Augustin Parmentier returned to Paris, after having been a prisoner of war in Prussia. During his detention he had to eat potatoes. Shortly after his return he began promoting potatoes by hosting potato dinners, developing a recipe for potato bread and successfully fighting famine by introducing potatoes to hungry people. Thanks to his efforts the ban on potatoes was lifted in 1772. He continued educating government and public about the value of the potato as important staple food.

In honour of his ongoing commitment to the potato, many dishes are named after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, including this delicious Parmentier de Canard.

Wine Pairing

We enjoyed a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon produced by Abbotts & Delaunay. It’s a red wine from the Pays d’Oc in France. The wine has a bouquet of ripe blackberry and plum. On the palate, it’s smooth and well balanced, with fresh acidity. Great combination with the rich Parmentier. In general you’re looking for a simple yet juicy and medium bodied red wine with little to no oak.

What You Need

one Confit de Canard
one Shallot
one Garlic Clove
1/4 sprig of fresh Rosemary
Potatoes
Milk
Crème Fraîche
Butter
Olive Oil
White Pepper
Salt

What You Do

Preheat your oven to 90˚ C or 200˚ F
Place the confit in the oven for some 10 minutes
Take the confit out of the oven and remove the skin
Use a fork or your hands to shred the duck
Increase the oven to 180˚ C or 350˚ F
Warm a heavy iron skillet and add olive oil
Chop shallot, garlic and rosemary
Add the shallot to the pan and glaze
Add the garlic to the pan
After a minute or so, add the chopped rosemary
Add the meat, combine and allow to integrate on low heat for 10 minutes
Peel and cube the potatoes
Add the potatoes to a steamer basket, cover and steam until tender when pierced with a knife, 10 to 15 minutes
Remove the basket from the steamer and allow the potatoes to rest for 5 minutes
Warm the milk
Add potatoes to a bowl
Mash with a fork
Add milk, butter and crème fraîche to the potatoes
You’re looking for a fairly firm puree
Add salt and white pepper to taste
Butter the baking dish
Add a layer of confit and cover with the puree (best to use a spatula)
Use a fork to create a nice pattern
Transfer to the oven for 20 minutes or until golden
(optional) Serve with a green salad

Parmentier de Canard ©cadwu made with confit de canard, shallot, garlic, rosemary and potato puree

Curly Kale with Confit de Canard

25 January 2024

Recently we wrote about kale-sprouts, the purple combination of Kale and Brussels sprouts. When working on the post we noticed that we actually never wrote about Curly Kale. This typical winter vegetable (also known as Boerenkool, Grünkohl or Chou Frisé) is not known for its culinary capability, although Cavolo Nero (which is a variety of Kale) has become fairly popular over the last years. Dishes like Ribollita, Minestrone or Cavolo Nero prepared with orecchiette and anchovies sound tempting.
Curly Kale is sometimes described as a super food because it contains lots of vitamines and it’s supposed to be good for your eye-sight. Reality is that it’s not simple to turn Curly Kale into something tasty. In 2015 Felicity Cloake (who writes for the Guardian) explains how to make kale crisps. She compares recipes from various authors and decides to make the perfect crisps from…. Cavolo Nero!
Curly Kale itself is typical comfort food. Served with potatoes, bacon and sausages; to be enjoyed with a glass of beer or a glass of Pinot Blanc.
Best is to eat Curly Kale after a wintery period. As soon as the temperature drops below zero, the plant will start breaking down the starch in the leaves into simple sugars. These sugars prevent the plant from freezing and the taste becomes sweeter and less bitter. A process that happens in carrots, turnips, beetroot, kale and Brussels sprouts but not in potatoes.

The traditional Dutch way of cooking Curly Kale is to add the sliced leaves with the potatoes to a pan of salted water, cook until done, drain, then mash with butter, warm milk, nutmeg, and black pepper. It is served with slices of smoked sausage. Hearty, filling and serieously heavy on your stomach.
We prefer a more modern version, highlighting the flavour and the texture of the Curly Kale.

What You Need

400 grams of Fresh Curly Kale leaves
1 small Potato
1 Shallot
1 Garlic Clove
Butter
Nutmeg
Black pepper
Confit de Canard

What You Do

Set your oven to 180 °C or 355 °F. Reheat and fry the confit de canard. Chop the shallot, finely chop the garlic, peel the potato and dice, strip the curly kale from its stems and slice the leaves. Add a generous amount of butter to the pan, gently fry the shallot for a few minutes, then add the garlic. After one minute or so add the sliced kale and allow to simmer. Add the diced potato, combine and leave to simmer for a few minutes. Add some water to the pan. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the potato is ready. Best is if the water has evaporated by this time. In the meantime, the duck should be ready. Poor the duck fat in the pan, mash very briefly (you want to keep the structure of the potatoes), add nutmeg and black pepper. The mash should be about the kale, with the onions, garlic and potato supporting it. Serve immediately on a warm plate.

Confit of Duck: a home made alternative

3 March 2022

The traditional way of making Confit of Duck is not complex. It’s a bit time consuming and it requires some planning, that’s all. The principle is to cure the meat in salt with various herbs (thyme, cumin, rosemary) and garlic. After 24 hours or so the duck is washed with water, patted dry and then slow cooked in goose or duck fat for several hours. When ready cool and store in fat.

We take a different approach by slow cooking the duck legs in olive oil. The result is remarkable: juicy, full of flavours and aromas, provided you use first class duck (label rouge for instance). If not, the meat can become dry and tough. Another benefit: we don’t cure the meat so it’s not salty at all.
We serve the confit with celeriac mash. It’s light, nutty and refreshing compared to a mash made with potatoes.

Wine Pairing

Best choice is a full bodied, red wine with ripe fruit and smoothness. We decided to open a bottle of Herdade de São Miguel Colheita Seleccionada 2020 as produced by Casa Relvas. Such a pleasure! Its colour is deep ruby and the aromas made us think of ripe black fruit and dark cherries with some spiciness. The wine is well balanced with a nice structure and smooth tannins. Works very well with the juicy duck and the mash with its creamy texture and lemonish, celery flavours.

What You Need

For the Confit
- 2 Duck Legs
- Juniper berries
- 4 Bay Leaves
- Olive Oil
- (optional) Garlic
For the Celeriac Mash
- 1 Celeriac
- Slice of Lemon
- Cream
- White Pepper
- Nutmeg

Confit

Take a sheet of aluminium foil and place the leg in the middle. Add lightly crushed juniper berries and two bay leaves. Perhaps some crushed garlic. Add a generous amount of olive oil and make sure everything is covered. Wrap foil around the duck. Take a second sheet of foil and wrap it around the package, making sure it’s closed. Repeat with the second leg. Transfer both packages to an oven at 120 °C or 240 °F. After one hour reduce the heat to 100 °C or 210 °F. After in total 4 to 5 hours, depending on the size of the legs, remove the legs from the oven, open the package and let cool. Then transfer to the refrigerator for use later on.

Heat the oven to 200 °C or 390 °F. Put the legs in an iron skillet, transfer to the oven and 15-20 minutes later the legs are ready. If the skin is not yet crispy, use the grill for 2 or 3 minutes.
Another idea is to pull the meat and use it to top a salad.

Mash

The Celeriac Mash: clean and dice the celeriac. Cook in minimum water with a nice slice of lemon until nearly done. Remove the lemon and drain. Add cream. Put on low heat for a few minutes; the celeriac should absorb the cream. When the celeriac is done, use a blender to create the puree. Pass through a sieve. Perhaps add extra lemon or cream. Just before serving add white pepper. Serve with freshly grated nutmeg.