Tag: garlic

Duck with Garlic Thyme Sauce

18 December 2025

Breast of Duck (Margret de Canard) is often paired with sweet ingredients, such as figs and oranges. We love the combination of duck with a green pepper sauce, because the sharpness emphasises the natural sweetness of the duck meat. In this recipe we do something similar. The sauce with thyme and mustard is aromatic and a touch sharp, which is very nice with the duck. The grated garlic adds spiciness to the sauce, making the dish more complex and bold. Delicious when combined with the sweet and sour caponata and crunchy fried polenta.

Wine Pairing

To balance the flavours of the dish, we suggest a fruity, dry red wine, one with subtle tannins and lots of freshness. We enjoyed a glass of Nero d’Avola, made in Sicily. The unoaked wine had a ruby red colour and aromas of cherries and plum. Serving the wine slightly chilled (meaning 15°C or 16°C (59°F or 61°F)) enhanced the freshness, acidity and fruitiness of the wine.

What You Need
  • 1 Breast of Duck
  • Thyme
  • Chicken Stock
  • Garlic
  • Mustard
  • Crème Fraîche
  • ½ grated clove Garlic
  • Black Pepper
  • To serve with the Duck
What You Do
  1. Check the breast for remainders of feathers
  2. Remove the vein on the meat side of the breast (and other bits you don’t like)
  3. Place on a dish, cover with foil and transfer to the refrigerator
  4. Leave in the refrigerator for one hour, making sure it’s nice, firm and cold
  5. Fry the duck in a hot, non-sticky skillet for 10-12 minutes on the skin side. Reduce the heat after a few minutes. You don’t need oil or butter, the ducks fat will do the trick
  6. Now fry for 2-3 minutes on the meat side and remove
  7. Cover with aluminum foil in such a way that the crispy skin is not covered. The foil should only cover the meat
  8. Remove most of the fat from the pan, but not all
  9. Add chicken stock and thyme
  10. Deglaze the pan
  11. Start building the sauce by adding juices from the duck
  12. Add mustard. This will not only add complexity and sharpness to the sauce, it will also make it thicker
  13. Add crème fraîche
  14. Add stock, mustard and crème fraîche to taste
  15. After 10 – 15 minutes add grated garlic, this will give a boost to the sauce
  16. Slice the duck (we like fairly big slices; you may prefer thinner ones)
  17. Add the last juices to the sauce and serve the duck with the sauce, caponata and fried polenta
Duck with Garlic Thyme Sauce ©cadwu served with caponata and polenta
Duck with Garlic Thyme Sauce ©cadwu

Lamb with Rosemary, Garlic and Anchovies

25 August 2021

A powerful and uplifting combination, one that works very well on a summer’s evening, eating al fresco. Using anchovies is not a semi-modern twist (the Surf and Turf cliché), it’s a way of adding flavor and salt to the dish. It made us think of the Roman Garum or Liquamen, a sauce made with fish and salt. The recipe for Garum is simple: just combine fish, lots of salt and leave to ferment for a couple of weeks, until you have a clear liquid. This fish sauce (but it doesn’t taste like fish) will bring umami and depth to the dish. In this case the anchovies will have a similar effect. During the cooking process they will practically dissolve and what is remains is flavor.
We enjoyed our lamb with Ratatouille. Make sure you prepare it one day ahead.

Wine Pairing

This combination requires a red wine that will not be blown away. We enjoyed a glass from the Corbières region in France, produced by Château Coulon and made from Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan and Grenache grapes. Flavors such as cassis, black fruit with a hint of pepper. The wine is dark red, with a liquoricey edge, a touch of smokiness, firm but supple tannins and a minerally character.

What You Need

  • For the Lamb with Rosemary, Garlic and Anchovies
    • 400 gram Leg of Lamb
    • 1 Rosemary Sprig
    • 4 Garlic Gloves
    • 2 Anchovies
    • Olive Oil
  • For the Ratatouille
    • 1 Red Bell Pepper
    • 1 Red Pepper
    • 1 Courgette
    • 1 Aubergine
    • 4 Excellent Tomatoes
    • Thyme
    • Cilantro
    • Olive oil

What You Do

The day before prepare the Ratatouille.
Make 4 slices in the meat, preferably in the fatty part. Remove the needles from the rosemary and chop very fine (using a herb chopper). Peel the gloves and press them. In your mortar, mix the garlic and chopped rosemary with some olive oil, creating a paste. Cut the anchovies in 4. Add paste and anchovies to slices. Cover with foil and leave to rest for at least 12 hours. Remember to remove it from the refrigerator one hour before cooking.

Heat the oven to 235 °C or 455 °F. Transfer the meat to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until it has the right colour. Open the oven, allow to cool and set the oven to a low temperature. You could go for 80 °C or 175 °F. We set it to 140 °C or 285 °F. Remove from the oven when the internal (core) temperature is 60 °C or 140 °F. Cover with foil (not tight) and allow to rest for 10 minutes. In parallel warm the ratatouille. Slice the meat at a right angle to the direction of the stuffed slices, mix the ratatouille with lots of fresh cilantro and serve on a warm plate.

  • Lamb with Rosemary, Garlic and Anchovies ©cadwu
    Lamb with Rosemary, Garlic and Anchovies ©cadwu
  • Lamb with Rosemary, Garlic and Anchovies waiting to be prepared ©cadwu
    Lamb with Rosemary, Garlic and Anchovies waiting to be prepared ©cadwu

Bay Boletes with Brussels Sprouts and Tenderloin

21 October 2018

Bay Bolete

The Bay Bolete is a tasty, fairly common mushroom. Its cap is chestnut (bay) brown. They are easy to find under pines and other conifers in Europe and North America (but we’re not mushroom hunters) and unfortunately not so easy to find on the market. The main season for the Bay Bolete is late summer and autumn. Bay Boletes are rarely infested with maggots. They dry very well.
When comparing the taste of Bay Boletes and Cepes we think that Cepes have a more powerful and complex taste whereas Bay Boletes are nuttier.

We remember Brussels sprouts from our youth: over- cooked, greyish, soggy and oh-that-smell (it’s sulphur actually)! Once in a blue moon we take a trip down memory lane and cook them this way, but we prefer a more modern approach, for instance steamed and served with a drizzle of olive oil. Nutmeg is a must by the way.

Wine

We very much enjoyed a glass of Portuguese Segredos de São Miguel, a full-bodied, warm red wine, made from grapes such as Alicante Bouschet, Aragonez, Touriga Nacional and Trincadeira. You will taste lots of fruit and a touch of toast. A juicy wine with nice acidity and smooth tannins. Fresh and vigorous finish.

You could also go for a Malbec. Taste wise the mushrooms and the sprouts are very powerful, so you’re looking for a wine that will clearly support the beef and will also combine with the nuttiness of the mushrooms and the touch of bitterness of the sprouts.

Here is what you need

  • Boletes
    • 150 grams of Bay Boletes
    • Olive Oil
    • Butter
    • One glove of Fresh Garlic
    • Parsley
  • Brussels Sprouts
    • 200 grams of Brussels Sprouts
    • Butter
    • Nutmeg
  • 150 grams of excellent Beef (Tenderloin is best in this case)
  • Black Pepper

Let’s Start Cooking

We begin with the Brussels sprouts: clean them (don’t cut in half as so many do nowadays) and cook or steam them until they are nearly okay. Set aside and let cool. Clean the mushrooms with a brush and/or kitchen paper. Slice (not too thin). Heat a skillet, add olive oil and butter. Add the sliced mushrooms and fry gently over medium heat. In parallel warm a pan with some butter and add the sprouts. The idea is to coat them with butter and warm them, giving them just the cuisson you prefer. Heat a second skillet with olive oil and butter, fry the beef and let rest for 5 minutes or so in aluminum foil. Season the sprouts with some nutmeg. Back to the mushrooms: add chopped garlic to the pan. Wait a few minutes and then add chopped parsley. You could make a jus in the skillet you used for the beef. Serve on a hot plate with extra nutmeg and black pepper.

Bay Boletes © cadwu
Bay Boletes with Brussels Sprouts and Beef © cadwu

Caesar’s Mushrooms with Udon

11 July 2018

Caesar’s mushroom (or Amanita Caesarea) is a true delicacy, especially when eaten very young. And raw. Since the young ones have the shape of an egg, they are called ovoli in Italian. It is not recommended to pick these young ones yourself, unless you’re an expert. The young Caesar’s mushroom looks very similar to young Fly Agaric, Death Cap or Destroying Angels. Ones we would not like to see on (y)our plate. The mature Caesar’s mushroom looks very distinct from these very dangerous mushrooms, so fewer risks involved.
When you’re in North America, you will probably be able to buy Amanita Jacksonii or Amanita Arkansana, which seem to be very similar, but not completely. As far as we know eating cooked Amanita Caesarea and Arkansana is not a problem; eating them raw could be.

The classic recipe for ovoli is to include them in a salad, with shaved white truffle, parsley, olive oil and parmesan cheese. Another option is to add them to your risotto.

In this recipe we combine the delicate flavour of the Caesar’s mushroom with lots of thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, a touch of garlic, Parmesan cheese and olive oil. Best would be to use Calamintha Nepeta, but using thyme will also do the trick. A garlic glove must be added because the garlic will turn black if your mushrooms are poisonous (not a story to rely on).

Ideally served with Japanese udon because the noodles will be nicely coated with the cooking juices, but feel free to use good pasta as an alternative. One of the benefits of udon is that it is really white, allowing for the yellow of the mushroom to be more present.

We enjoyed our Caesar’s mushrooms with a glass of traditional Burgundy wine from France (100% pinot noir). The wine should have delicate fruit aromas (black cherries, plum) and some earthiness. The wine should be medium bodied and have a crisp acidity. Not too much oak, because oak will overpower the mushrooms. The pinot noir should also be relatively light, allowing for herbal and floral tones.
Pinot Noir wines from the new world are in general rounder and higher in alcohol, making these wines more like Syrah or Malbec. We don’t recommend these wines, however tasty, in combination with the dish.
A glass of Chardonnay is also an option provided it’s fresh with just a touch of oak and butter.

Here is what you need

  • 200 grams of Caesar’s mushrooms
  • Olive Oil
  • Thyme
  • Rosemary
  • Bay Leaf
  • Garlic glove
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Japanese Udon (for instance from Hakubaku)

Clean the Caesar’s mushrooms and remove the white veil (or volva). Make a bouquet garni with lots of thyme, rosemary and a bay leaf. Start by making flavoured olive oil by warming the olive oil in a large skillet and adding the herbs and the garlic glove. Not too hot, you only want the flavours and essential oils to be added to the olive oil. After 15 minutes or so remove the garlic and the bouquet. Now add the sliced Ceasar’s mushrooms and very gently fry them. Just cooked is perfect. In parallel cook the udon. When ready (12 minutes in our case, you don’t want the udon to be al dente), drain the udon but keep some of the cooking liquid. If there is too much starch on the pasta, then think Japan and wash your pasta with cold water. This will remove the starch and allow for a better result. Remove the Caesar’s mushrooms from the pan and keep warm. Add the pasta to the pan, stir and make sure the pasta is fully coated. Add a spoonful or two of the cooking liquid to the pan. Add some grated Parmesan cheese and black pepper. Transfer the Caesar’s mushroom back to the pan and stir very gently, making it into one yellow, tasty mixture. Just before serving sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese.

Garlic

5 January 2018

A recipe for garlic? Yes, indeed. The taste of fresh, crunched garlic is nice, but you can do so much better! If cooked on relativly low heat, the garlic will become soft and sweet. Great to add to a sauce and also very nice on toasted bread.

What You Need 
  • Garlic
  • Plenty of Olive oil
What You Do
  1. Remove the top of the garlic, allowing you to see the individual cloves, but not more than that.
  2. Put the garlic as one bowl in a ramekin, sprinkle with plenty of oil and cover with aluminum foil.
  3. Or wrap the garlic in aluminium foil
  4. Put in an oven for 50 – 60 minutes on 150° C or 300 °F.
  5. Remove from the oven and let cool
  6. Gently open the package and peel the garlic.
  7. If all is well you will now have cooked garlic cloves.
  8. Put in a small jar and cover with oil.
  9. Store in the fridge.

garlic ready for storage
Garlic ready for storage © cadwu