Duck Leg Farrotto With Pearl Onions And Bloomsdale Spinach Recipes

Steps:

• Using small sharp knife, score duck skin in 1-inch-wide grid pattern. Season duck generously with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add duck; cook about 6 minutes per side for medium. Transfer to cutting board; tent with foil. Discard all but 1/4 cup drippings from skillet. Heat drippings in skillet over high heat. Add pears, onions, and potatoes; sauté until beginning to brown, 5 minutes. Stir in sage; season with salt and pepper. Transfer hash to bowl; cover to keep warm.
• Heat same skillet over high heat. Add broth and vinegar; bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Boil until reduced to glaze, about 5 minutes. Season glaze with salt and pepper.
• Divide hash among plates. Cut duck into 1/2-inch-thick slices; fan over hash. Drizzle glaze over and serve.

Steps:

• Trim excess fat from duck legs, reserving fat for the sautéed kale. In a large bowl marinate duck legs in wine with bouquet garni, covered and chilled, 2 hours.
• Transfer legs to a plate, reserving wine and bouquet garni. In a heavy kettle large enough to hold legs in one layer heat oil over moderately high heat until hot. Pat legs dry with paper towels and season with salt. Cook legs, skin sides down, 20 minutes, or until skin is crisp and mahogany-colored, removing fat from kettle as it rendered with a metal bulb baster (or very carefully pouring it off). Turn legs and cook until browned on other side, about 2 minutes, transferring as browned to a plate.
• Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons fat from kettle and sauté vegetables with salt to taste, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Add duck legs, skin sides up, with parsley sprigs and reserved wine and bouquet garni and simmer, covered, 1 1/2 hours, or until tender. Braised duck legs may be prepared up to this point 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Reheat mixture over low heat, adding 1/3 cup water, before proceeding with duck preparation.
• Make roasted pears and onions during last hour of duck braising:
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• In a shallow baking pan large enough to hold onions and pears in one layer melt butter in oven and swirl pan to coat. Add onion halves, cut sides down, and quarters, and bake 30 minutes. Add pears, cut side down, to pan and bake 20 minutes, or until pears and onions are tender and lightly browned. In a cup stir together lemon juice, honey, and salt and add to onions and pears, tossing to coat.
• Transfer duck legs to a warm plate and keep warm, covered with foil. Discard parsley sprigs and bouquet garni and strain liquid into a 1-quart measuring cup, reserving vegetables. Let liquid stand until fat rises to top and skim and discard fat. Return liquid to kettle and simmer until reduced to about 2 cups. Add beurre manié, a little at a time, whisking, and boil 2 minutes. Stir reserved vegetables and minced parsley into sauce and heat through if necessary.
• Serve duck legs, with sauce spooned over them and garnished with parsley sprigs, with roasted pears and onions.

Steps:

• Place the broth in a saucepan and set over low heat to keep hot.
• Pick the meat off the duck legs and discard the bones. You should end up with about 1 1/2 cups of loosely packed meat.
• In a high-sided sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the garlic and minced onion and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft. Add the farro and stir to coat in the butter, then add the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until the wine is absorbed, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Add 1 cup of the broth. Cook until the liquid is almost completely absorbed, 6 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• While the farrotto is cooking, heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over high heat. Add the pearl onions and sauté until well browned in spots and tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and reserve.
• Add 1 more cup broth to the farrotto and continue cooking until the liquid is almost completely absorbed, 6 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add another 1 1/2 to 2 cups broth in 1/2-cup additions. After each addition, continue tasting the farrotto for doneness. It should be nearly tender with some resilience. Add the duck meat, spinach, and pearl onions. Cook until the spinach is completely wilted, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Remove from the heat and fold in the cheese and the remaining 4 tablespoons butter. The farrotto should be creamy and glossy. Serve.