Confit Duck Leg - A true taste of the French countryside

Those who know me will know of my love affair with all things French, I don’t know if this is why I married a French women or because I married one. For me this dish personifies French cuisine, more specifically the cuisine of the French countryside. To confit a duck leg is to take a cheap cut and make something beautiful, tender and most importantly, something tasty. It can also be use to preserve the meat for when times are hard and this is typical of French country life. I have served my duck leg with some puy lentils and green beans, both of witch compliment the rich meat wonderfully. Served with full bodied Bordeaux red, this may be peasant food at its best, but for me there is not better meal.

4 duck legs

1 lt vegetable oil

4 cloves of garlic

1 bunch of fresh thyme

200g lentils

1lt vegetable stock

2 carrots

1 small white onion

75g baby spinach

200g fine French beans

Place your duck legs in a large pan with the oil, 3 cloves of garlic (crush them with a back of a knife to help the flavour come out) and half the bunch of thyme. Put the pan on a medium heat and bring the oil to the boil. Put the lid on the pan and place it in a pre-heated oven at 150c for an hour and a half. When you take your duck legs out of the oven remove the pan lid and allow to cool in the oil.

Remove the duck legs from the oil (you can strain the oil and place it in the fridge, it will add a wonderful flavour to your roast potatoes) and place them on a sheet of tin foil and put them in a hot oven for 35 minuets until the skin is crispy.

Whilst the duck legs are re-heating, dice the onion and coarsely dice the carrot, crush the garlic and chop up the thyme, place them in a pan with a little of the duck fat. Sweat them off over a medium heat until the onion becomes translucent. Add in the lentils and the stock and simmer for 35 minuets. Once all of the stock is absorbed and the lentils are cooked fold in the spinach and season. Cook your green bean in boiling water for 6 minuets, drain and transfer to a frying pan with a small amount of duck fat in. Saute for a further 3 minuets and serve.

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