Confit duck with bean stew

“Now common all over France, confit duck was originally a speciality of Gascony, where it has been made this way for centuries. Traditionally, the duck legs were cured in salt before being slowly cooked in their own fat. The great thing about is that you can use the fat for seriously good roast potatoes or combine it with some of the shredded meat to make rillettes.” - James

Image credit: Peter Cassidy

Ingredients

For the confit duck legs:

4 duck legs
500g duck fat, at room temperature
2 bay leaves
Small bunch of thyme

For the bean stew:

1 large onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
200g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
50ml olive oil
400g tin borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
400g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed
400g tin chopped tomatoes
25g tomato purée
Large bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Print Recipe

Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2.

For the confit duck, place the duck legs in an ovenproof dish with a lid and cover with the duck fat. Add the bay leaves and thyme, cover and cook in the oven for 3 hours until the duck is very tender.

For the bean stew, place a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil, onions, garlic and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add the beans and tomatoes and stir in the tomato purée. Bring to the boil and cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes, then stir in the parsley.

Carefully remove the confit duck legs from the dish and drain on kitchen paper. Place a non-stick frying pan over high heat, add the duck legs and fry until browned and crispy. Season with salt and pepper and serve with the bean stew.

Ingredients

For the confit duck legs:

4 duck legs
500g duck fat, at room temperature
2 bay leaves
Small bunch of thyme

For the bean stew:

1 large onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
200g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
50ml olive oil
400g tin borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
400g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed
400g tin chopped tomatoes
25g tomato purée
Large bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2.

This recipe is from the book:

James Martin’s French Adventure

“Some thirty years since Floyd on France first screened, the chance to follow in his footsteps and, to return to the places that have shaped my own life and career was too good to resist. I hope this book will give you a small taste of what I learnt and the things I discovered on my French adventure, and that you’ll enjoy the trip as much as I did!”
- James

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