FOUR’s most liked recipe of 2014, Daniel Humm’s lavender glazed duck with fennel and peaches gives a magnificent twist on the usual roast…
Serves 8
Ingredients
Duck jus
2.6kg duck carcasses, cut into 5cm pieces
4tbsp duck fat
900g sliced onions
450g diced carrots
450g diced celery
450g diced leeks
450g diced celery root
5tbsp tomato paste
16oz port
24oz red wine
10 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
25 peppercorns
1.36kg chicken feet
10l chicken stock
Duck spice
227g szechuan peppercorns
227g dried coriander seeds
113g cumin seeds
113g dried lavender flowers
Roasted ducks
2 muscovy ducks, head on
450g lavender honey
Salt, to season
Duck spice
Duck sauce
3 lemons
4 limes
2 oranges
1kg sugar
3 pods star anise
1 tbsp butter
450g duck jus
½ tsp raspberry vinegar
½ tsp salt
Compressed peaches
3 very firm but ripe peaches
59ml sauternes
Peach confit
8 large peaches
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lime juice
Salt
Black pepper
1 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
Fennel tears
2 fennel bulbs
118ml white wine
2 tbsp pernod
3 pods star anise
¼ tsp fennel seeds
4 pieces lemon peel
½ tsp salt
Fennel and potato purée
57g fennel fronds
2 tbsp butter
450g fennel, diced (¼ inch)
450g la ratte fingerling potatoes, peeled and diced (¼ inch)
1½ tsp salt
To finish
Brown butter
Fleur de sel
Method
Duck jus
Preheat the oven to 190c. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread the duck bones in a single layer on the baking sheets and roast the bones in the oven until golden brown, 1-1hour 15 minutes, turning the bones over once after 20 minutes. Melt the duck fat in a 22l stockpot over high heat. Sautée the onions, carrots, celery, leeks and celery root in the duck fat until they caramelise, about 7-10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and sautée until caramelised, 5-7 minutes. Add the port and reduce by half. Add the red wine and reduce to syrup consistency. Make a sachet by tying the thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns in cheesecloth. Add the chicken feet, carcass bones, and sachet to the stockpot and cover with the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and skim the stock of all impurities and fats that rise to the top. Simmer, uncovered, over low heat for 5 hours, skimming every 30 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh chinois and reduce to 1l. Strain again and chill over ice.
Duck spice
In a spice grinder, grind the szechuan peppercorns, coriander, and cumin until roughly ground. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the lavender flowers.
Roasted ducks
Dry the ducks completely with paper towels. Use meat hooks to hang them by their necks in a refrigerator with good air circulation. Allow to age and dry for a minimum of 8 days and a maximum of 14 days. When ready to cook, preheat a convection oven to 190c. Remove and discard the neck, feet, and wing tips, and truss the ducks with butcher’s twine. Rub thoroughly with honey, being sure to coat all of the skin. Season with salt, then coat evenly with the duck spice. Place on a roasting rack and roast for 8 minutes. Rotate the duck and return it to the oven for another 8-9 minutes. Remove from the oven, and rest for 12-15 minutes before carving.
Duck sauce
Zest and juice the lemons, limes, and oranges. Combine the juices in one bowl and the zests in another. Place the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Caramelise to a very deep amber colour. Add the star anise and the citrus juices to stop the cooking. Reduce by ¾, or until thick and syrupy. Add the zest and butter and chill. In a separate pot, heat the duck jus and add 1½ tablespoons of the citrus syrup. Season with the vinegar and salt.
Compressed peaches
Cut the peaches into quarters and slice each quarter into thin half-moons. Arrange the peaches in a sousvide bag and add the sauternes. Vacuum-seal and allow them to marinate. Remove them from the bag when ready to serve.
Peach confit
Preheat the oven to 93c. Cut each peach into quarters. Slice cut each quarter into 3 ½-moons. You should have 12 wedges per peach. Dress with olive oil, lime juice, and salt. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the wedges on the parchment and sprinkle with pepper and the confectioners’ sugar. Bake for 45 minutes.
Fennel tears
Pull apart the fennel petals and trim the tops and the bottoms to make even widths. Cut them into 3.8×1.9cm isosceles triangles. Using a paring knife, round of the bottoms to form tear shapes. Trim them to ¹/8” thickness. Combine the white wine, pernod, star anise, fennel seeds, and lemon peel in a small saucepan over medium heat and reduce by half. Add ¼ cup water and the salt. Place the fennel tears and ¼ cup of the cooking liquid in a sousvide bag. Vacuum-seal and steam at 90c for 35 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of ice water. Once cool, remove the fennel tears from the bag.
Fennel and potato purée
Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the fennel fronds, cooking for a few seconds, until just wilted. Transfer to a bowl of ice water and, once cold, drain. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the diced fennel and potatoes and sweat until soft and translucent, about 15 minutes. Add 2 ½ cups water and simmer for 25 minutes. Purée the cooked fennel and potatoes in a blender until smooth. Blend in the blanched fennel fronds and season with the salt. Pass the purée through a fine-mesh tamis and chill over ice.
To finish
Warm the fennel and potato purée in a small saucepan over low heat. Carve the breasts off of the roasted ducks. Slice into even pieces and brush with brown butter and season with fleur de sel. Put 2 duck slices on a plate. Spoon the fennel and potato purée onto the plate and garnish with the compressed peaches and peach confit and the tears. Finish with the duck sauce. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, to serve 8.
Photography by Francesco Tonelli
