Allan's duck

This delicious posting had been inadvertently removed during much of 2007. My abject apologies - it shall not happen again

WARNING: THE PROBLEM WITH BLOGS IS THAT THE LATEST POSTING APPEARS ON TOP. YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO ENJOY THIS FANTASTIC RECIPE, BEFORE YOU HAVE CAREFULLY READ THE TWO POSTINGS BELOW! LET YOUR CONSCIENCE DECIDE.

AND MERRY CHRISTMAS BY THE WAY!

Allan’s canard à l’orange (Geneva, 24 December 2005)

Take a fresh 1.5 kg duck, ideally a cannette, with slightly dark meat, but not a wild duck. Clean it.

Make stuffing:

Slice three shallots, fry to golden in olive oil.

Add 15 small green olives without stones.

Add 200 grammes of clams (Italian vongole). Can be from small can.

Add 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper ½ tsp thyme, ½ tsp rosmary, ½ tsp basilic 2 tsp sage,.

Crumble 5 cream crackers or a sheet ot matzoh into the mixture (as alternative, consider spaetzli, noodles or couscous).

Reduce over low heat. Adjust taste.

Put aside ¼ of this stew for sauce.

To the remainder add segments of 1 orange.

Stuff this into duck, then bind it.

To the ¼ left, add finely sliced zest of ½ orange. Cook gently for ½ hour.

Pass through sieve, keep the liquid for sauce, throw away solid.

Add the liver of the duck after mashing it with a fork (if you don’t have it (the duck’s liver, use 2 tablespoons of foie gras de canard (if your conscience forbids you the use of foie gras, use chicken liver or imagine what it would be like)).

Rub the duck with olive oil with salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 250⁰C, turn on grill. Place the duck on grid, and grill it on top and bottom (only the time needed for it to brown). Lower temperature to 150. Roast for 30 mins with back up, 60 mins with breast up. Add water regularly to the pan under the grid.

Turn off oven, leave duck inside, remove pan, pour drippings into bowl. Skim the fat off and discard. Add the jus to the sauce. Reduce, adjust taste. You may add a little orange liqueur.

Take duck out, shovel stuffing into warm bowl, carve and serve on a warm dish for example with small potatoes and haricots verts à l’ail.

Acknowledgements: Thanks are due to the Thanksgiving Turkey, the Poulet Marengo and Larousse gastronomique.