Tag: confit

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
  1. Preheat your oven to 90˚ C or 200˚ F
  2. Place the confit in the oven for some 10 minutes
  3. Take the confit out of the oven and remove the skin
  4. Use a fork or your hands to shred the duck
  5. Increase the oven to 180˚ C or 350˚ F
  6. Warm a heavy iron skillet and add olive oil
  7. Chop shallot, garlic and rosemary
  8. Add the shallot to the pan and glaze
  9. Add the garlic to the pan
  10. After a minute or so, add the chopped rosemary
  11. Add the meat, combine and allow to integrate on low heat for 10 minutes
  12. Peel and cube the potatoes
  13. Add the potatoes to a steamer basket, cover and steam until tender when pierced with a knife, 10 to 15 minutes
  14. Remove the basket from the steamer and allow the potatoes to rest for 5 minutes
  15. Warm the milk
  16. Add potatoes to a bowl
  17. Mash with a fork
  18. Add milk, butter and crème fraîche to the potatoes
  19. You’re looking for a fairly firm puree
  20. Add salt and white pepper to taste
  21. Butter the baking dish
  22. Add a layer of confit and cover with the puree (best to use a spatula)
  23. Use a fork to create a nice pattern
  24. Transfer to the oven for 20 minutes or until golden
  25. (optional) Serve with a green salad
Parmentier de Canard ©cadwu made with confit de canard, shallot, garlic, rosemary and potato puree
La Cuisinière Républicaine

Roasted Bell Peppers

18 July 2024

The recipe of Peperoni alla Piemontese goes back to 1954 when Elizabeth David published it in her (third) book Italian Food. The dish is a true classic. Super simple, tasty, uplifting and a tribute to summer.  The recipe as published by Elizabeth David was popularised by Delia Smith in her TV series and her book Summer Collection, published in 1993. A helpful video is available via her website.
Bell peppers are popular in Piemonte and it seems they were originally prepared with anchovies and parsley only. It was probably Elizabeth David who came up with the idea to add tomatoes. Later others added tuna, which we think takes away the lightness of the dish. Another option is to replace the anchovies with black olives, making it a vegetarian dish.
We prefer using sweet long bell peppers. They combine very well with the flavour of the tomatoes and the juices. Delia Smith uses quartered, peeled tomatoes which helps to brings the flavours and textures together. Our alternative is a bit more work: we use tomato confit. The tomatoes are very tasty with hints of garlic, rosemary and thyme.

Wine Pairing

Enjoy the roasted peppers with a crisp white wine or rosé. If you want to spend some money, then buy a bottle of white Piemonte wine, made with the arneis grape. The wine is made in the Roero area close to the village of Canale. A wine with a bright, intense yellow colour, present aromas of ripe fruit (especially apples), very fragrant. The taste is delicate and fruity with good acidity and a long finish.

What You Need
  • 2 Sweet Bell Peppers
  • 8 Tomato Confit
  • 4 Anchovies
  • 1 Clove of Garlic
  • Black Pepper (optional)
  • Olive Oil
What You Do

Preheat your oven to 180 °C or 350 °F. Halve the bell peppers lengthwise. Slice the garlic. Chop the anchovies. Use a shallow baking dish. Add 2 tomatoes, some garlic, some anchovies and a generous amount of olive oil (and/or cooking juices of the confit) to each halved bell pepper. Transfer to the oven. The peppers will be ready in 30+ minutes. Enjoy with crusted bread. No need to serve with basil!

Roasted Bell Peppers ©cadwu
Bell Peppers Ready for the Oven ©cadwu

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.

Confit of Duck ready to be grilled ©cadwu
Confit of Duck before cooking ©cadwu
Confit of Duck done ©cadwu
Confit of Duck ©cadwu

Beaujolais Primeur 2021

18 November 2021

Beaujolais Primeur or Nouveau is made from the Gamay grape, using a technique called macération carbonique. The result is a fruity, light red wine, with little or no tannins. One that can’t be stored for too long. It was (and is) a very popular wine in many a French Bistro, served and enjoyed with lunch.

Over the years we became used to the idea of drinking the first French wine of the year and we started to pay more attention to the quality, only to notice that actually most of the primeur wines were thin, with a bit of acidity but without depth or length.

Today we will open a bottle of Jean-Paul Brun Terres Dorées Beaujolais L’Ancien Primeur 2021. Jean-Paul Brun is a serious and excellent producer of beautiful, tasty Beaujolais wines. We’re sure this primeur will be pure pleasure and a true indication of the quality of the Beaujolais wines this year.

Food Pairing

We will enjoy our Beaujolais Primeur with Confit the Canard and Roasted Seasonal Vegetables.

Beaujolais Primeur at The Art of Wines, Amsterdam ©cadwu
Beaujolais Primeur at The Art of Wines, Amsterdam ©cadwu

Tomato Confit

6 October 2021

A few years ago it was the obvious garnish to nearly every dish: oven roasted cherry tomatoes, preferably on the vine. It looks and tastes nice plus it is easy to make. Just heat your oven to 180 °C or 350 °F, add the tomatoes to a baking dish, sprinkle with salt, olive oil and 30 minutes later they’re ready to serve. When cold you can add them to a salad or a sandwich with soft cheese (mozzarella, burrata, ricotta). An alternative is to halve the tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and quickly roast and dry them in the oven. Another tasty result.

We prefer a slow alternative: Tomato Confit. The idea is that the skin doesn’t crack, so the tomatoes remain intact, and at the same time they absorb the flavours of the oil, herbs and garlic. The result is not just a great sweet and juicy tomato, it’s a taste explosion!

We use Tomato Confit to brighten up a simple pasta or salad, or a more complex dish like Lobster Mushroom with Udon.

What You Need

  • Excellent Cherry Tomatoes
  • Olive Oil
  • Rosemary
  • Thyme
  • 2 Garlic Gloves

What You Do

  1. Wash and dry the tomatoes
  2. Add to a baking dish
  3. Chop the garlic
  4. Add herbs, garlic and a generous amount of olive oil to the dish. No salt, honey or sugar required
  5. Combine
  6. Leave in the oven for something like 2 hours on 90 °C or 200 °F
  7. You could baste the tomatoes once or twice
  8. Don’t forget to use the cooking liquid as well, it’s another pack of flavours!
  • Tomato Confit ©cadwu
    Tomato Confit ©cadwu
  • Fresh Tomatoes ©cadwu
    Fresh Tomatoes ©cadwu

Onion Confit

20 January 2021

In 2010 James Tanner published his inspiring book Takes 5: Delicious Dishes Using Just 5 Ingredients. Short shopping lists, easy recipes and tasty results: what more can you ask for! He could have included Onion Confit in his book, but he didn’t. Five ingredients: onions, olive oil, time and perhaps bay leaf and some water are all you need to create a condiment that is perfect with roasted meats and foie gras. It comes with subtle, natural sweetness and lots of umami.

Let’s first discuss the name: it is confit because it is cooked slowly, in fat, over a long period of time. It’s not chutney for the simple reason that it does not originate from India or Pakistan plus there is no need to add various herbs and spices. It’s also not marmalade because we don’t use the peel of the onion.

Onions contain a chemical substance called inulin (also to be found in for instance bananas and Jerusalem artichokes) and given time and warmth it will breakdown into fructose: fruit sugar. Vinegar stimulates this process. So it’s yes to adding vinegar and no to adding sugar.

So how to turn white onions into a deep brown confit? Obviously we don’t add brown caster sugar (as unfortunately so many recipes suggest). Perhaps use balsamic vinegar? Nice try, but no. The only thing you need to do is to cook the onions on very low heat for 8 hours or so.

Wine Pairing

We served our Onion Confit with Terrine de Foie Gras on toast and a glass of Coteaux du Layon produced by Château de la Roulerie. This is a slightly sweet, golden white wine, made from Chenin Blanc grapes. In general a late harvested, not too sweet wine will be an excellent choice but you could also go for a glass of Champagne or Gewurztraminer.

What You Need

  • 4 White (or Spanish) Onions
  • Olive Oil
  • 1 tablespoon of Vinegar
  • Optional
    • Bay Leaf
    • Water

What You Do

Peel, slice and quarter the onions. Warm a heavy enamelled iron pan, add olive oil and add the onions. Allow to simmer on very low heat for 30 minutes. Add the vinegar and allow to simmer for an additional 8 hours. Check every hour, give a gentle stir and if needed add some water. Let cool and store in the refrigerator. It will last for a week.

Toast with Terrine de Foie Gras and Onion Chutney ©cadwu
Fresh White Onions ©cadwu
Peeled Fresh White Onions ©cadwu

Lentils with Confit of Duck

19 February 2020

A Nice Lunch

Think France, think a small restaurant in a small street, nice and simple, no Michelin star in sight. It’s 12.30, time for a quick lunch. You enter the restaurant, take a seat and order today’s dish, the plat du jour. It turns out to be a generous helping of lentils with confit de cuisse de canard and parsley. After having enjoyed your lunch, you think about the joy of good food and the beauty of lentils. Lentille Verte du Puy, such a treat! The combination of the confit, the lentils and the parsley with the sweetness of the shallot and the garlic is elegant, moist and full of flavours.

Feel free to buy ready-made confit. You could of course make it yourself but it is fairly time consuming and not something you would do for two confits only. In our experience most of the confits you can buy (tinned or vacuumed) will be fine. If you’re lucky your local butcher will make his or her own confits. We have included an alternative recipe below.

Wine Pairing

We suggest a glass of not too complex red wine; a well-balanced wine with notes of red fruit, gentle tannins and not too oaky. We enjoyed a glass of Bordeaux-Supérieur, Château Picon.

What You Need

  • 3 Shallots
  • 1 Garlic Glove
  • Coriander Seed
  • Lentils (Lentille Verte du Puy O.P & A.O.C. from Sabarot)
  • Chicken Stock
  • 2 Confits de Canard
  • Olive Oil
  • Parsley
  • Black Pepper
  • Optional: Green Salad

What You Do

Finely chop one shallot and glaze gently in olive oil. In the mean time check the lentils for small pebbles; wash them. Once the shallot is glazed add the crushed coriander seed and the lentils. Heat and stir for one minutes, as you would do with risotto rice. Add some chicken stock and water (the stock is only intended to give the lentils a small push) and leave to simmer on low heat. When the lentils are nearly done, finely chop the other two shallots and glaze gently in olive oil and in the fat that comes with the confit. In parallel warm the two confits. After a few minutes add the finely chopped garlic to the shallot. Chop the parsley. When the garlic and shallot are nicely soft and sweet, add the parsley, some black pepper and then mix with the lentils. Remove the skin from the confit and serve the duck on top of the lentils. Perhaps serve with a simple green salad.

Alternative Way of Making Confit of Duck

Start by crushing a nice amount of juniper berries. Take a sheet of strong aluminium foil, add some crushed berries, a bay leaf and put one duck leg (skin side up) on top. Drizzle with plenty of olive oil. Add the remainder of the berries and a second bay leaf. Wrap the meat in foil, making sure it is tightly closed and the foil intact. If not sure wrap with a second piece of foil. Transfer to a warm oven (90° Celsius or 200° Fahrenheit) for at least 8 hours.

Lentils with Confit of Duck © cadwu
Lentils with Confit of Duck © cadwu