Duck with Pomegranate

Duck with Pomegranate, Pistachio and Lavender

Duck Confit

2 duck legs
1L duck fat
1 tbsp cumin
½ pc star anise
½ tsp fennel seeds
1 bay leaves
½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp black peppercorns
250g kosher salt
250g brown sugar

Toast off all spices in a pan under low heat. Grind them in a coffee grinder. Lightly salt the duck legs and let stand for 15 min. Mix the ground spices with a small amount of veg oil to make them into a paste. Now, evenly spread all the paste on the duck legs. Mix the salt and sugar together evenly and completely cover all the legs. Let stand in fridge for 2 days. On the third day, rinse them off and place in a deep hotel pan. Bring the duck fat to a boil and pour on top of the duck legs. Cover the hotel pan with foil and place in oven at 300 F for 3-4 hrs. Remove from oven and let cool in the oil.

The duck can stay preserved in the oil refrigerated for 6 months to a year.

To make Rillette: pick down all the meat off the bone after it has cooled down. Place in a mixing bowl over another mixing bowl that has iced water inside. Pour half a cup of the duck fat into the bowl with the meat and continue to mix until a paste has formed. Form and freeze into desired shape.

Lavender Pudding

175g water
4g dried lavender flowers
3g agar
1g salt
17g sugar
1g citric acid

Boil all ingredients for two minutes in a pot over medium heat.  Puree with food processor. Pour into a large container and refrigerate until set.  Cut lavender gel into small pieces to fit into bar blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a chinois and transfer to a squeeze bottle or two.

Pistachio Puree and Chips

Puree

250g Iranian pistachios
500g water
125g sugar
1g kosher salt

Soak pistachios in warm water (not recipe water) for one hour and remove skin. Discard. Simmer all ingredients for 1 hour. Puree and pass through chinois.

Chips

75g Iranian pistachios
250g pistachio puree

Pre-heat pven to 350 F. Toast pistachios for 10 minutes, or until aromatic. Grind nuts to a coarse powder. Spread pistachio puree in a thin layer on a sheet of acetate. Dust with pistachio powder. Transfer acetate to a de-hydrator or an oven with just the pilot light on until crisp (approx. 12 hours). Break into random shards and store in airtight container.

Pomegranate Sheet

1L pomegranate juice
25g agar
200g    sugar

In a large sauce pan combine all ingredients. Stir well and bring to a boil. Pour onto a cold smooth surface. Cut into desired shape.