Duck Leg Tagine



I love my Scanpan Tagine pot. OK, it’s not so gaudily pretty as traditional ceramic or cast iron Moroccan pots, but it’s very handsome in its own Danish way, and immensely more practical. I also love the Moroccan-inspired recipes which abound on the ‘Net to show off what wonderful meals it produces. Oh, and I love duck. So what better than duck leg tagine! And this recipe is for two, so it could be made in a smaller pot than mine. Scale up ingredients for more.


Serves 2


Prep time:   10 Minutes

Cook time:   60 Minutes

Total time:    70 Minutes



Ingredients

  • 2 (Around 225-250g each) Duck Legs (although the recipe would work well with breasts. Legs have the advantage of being on bone, which always adds some flavour to tagines).
  • 1 Large Brown Onion
  • 3 Garlic Cloves
  • ½ cup Dried Apricots
  • 1/3 cup Almonds (they don’t need to be blanched).
  • 2 Tbsp Harissa Paste
  • 2 Tbsp Water
  • 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
  • Olive Oil (I haven’t specified an amount, dollop to taste)
  • ½ Tsp Salt
  • Tsp Sumac
  • 1 bunch of asparagus left over from the previous night 😉, or a cup of any green veg or sliced carrots.
  • Loads of Coriander to garnish
  • Couscous accompaniment


Instructions

  1. Dry the duck legs thoroughly then pierce the skin all over with a sharp paring knife and trim any excess fat from the underside of the leg.
  2. Cut the onion into 1-1½cm thick slices then peel off the skin from the outside.
  3. Peel the garlic cloves and slice them as thinly as you can.
  4. Cut the dried apricots in half.
  5. Mix together the harissa paste, water and lime juice in a small mixing bowl.
  6. Heat a couple of tbsp or so of olive oil in the base of your tagine over a medium-high heat and while it is heating rub the duck legs with more oil and salt.
  7. When the oil is hot, sear the duck on the skin side only until it is golden, you will need to do these separately, then remove and set them aside. This will take 2-4 minutes per leg depending on the temperature of your tagine base.
  8. Reduce the heat under the tagine to low and layer up the ingredients in the order, onions to form a base, then sprinkle over the garlic, almonds and dried apricots. You can drain out some of the duck fat before you start layering up if you want, I didn't.
  9. Add the duck legs skin side up, then pour over the harissa paste mix and sprinkle over half of the sumac, add the lid and cook on a low temperature for 30 minutes.
  10. If you have a bunch of asparagus left over from the previous night’s Air Fryer Salmon and Asparagus 😉, cut off the usual bottom bits and then cut the stalks into, say, 5cm batons. Or use any other green veg or sliced carrots. Add them to the pot and replace the lid.
  11. Cook on a low heat for a further 15 minutes.
  12. Duck should be 74 internal temp, you should have reached this nae bother. If you haven't, just keep the pot on low for another 10 minutes. One of the beauties of tagines (or crockpots/slow cookers) is that it's difficult to overcook things.
  13. Remove the lid and sprinkle with the remaining sumac and lots of coriander.
  14. Serve at the table, with couscous.



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