Duck with Chestnuts and Chickpeas
Feb 14th, 2008 | By Hank Shaw | Category: Ducks and Geese, Recipe, Wild Game | Comments | 1 Comment |
It is still technically winter in Northern California, although the almond blossoms have arrived – just in time for St. Valentine’s Day. And winter is the time for chestnuts and braised dishes, so I thought I’d make a Tunisian-inspired tagine of mallard legs with chestnuts and chickpeas before the almond blossoms fade and spring arrives in earnest.
This dish is reasonably easy to do — if you have pre-done chestnuts. I love chestnuts, but detest peeling them. I always ended up with the nasty inner skin jammed underneath my fingernails and a whole lot of heartache as I grimly skinned one, then another.
Then I realized all I needed to do was chop off the “eye” of the nut with a paring knife down to the creamy inner center, then steam them for 5 minutes and peel at once. Voila! Easy-peasy! The result is above. Once I learned this I bought more chestnuts. Thanks to my vacuum sealer, these will keep for months in the freezer.
The braise itself is nothing more than seared duck legs and wings (I had collected a bunch boning out the mallards for last weekend’s Mallard Tasting), resting on a bed of slivered onions, swimming in a pool of red wine, tomato paste, North African spices and duck broth alongside some cooked chickpeas and the chestnuts.
Top all this off with a little rose water at the end and serve with either zaatar flatbreads or just a crusty loaf and you are good to go. Simple, deep, delicious.
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DUCK LEGS with CHESTNUTS and CHICKPEAS
This is a simple braised dish inspired by a lamb tagine I found in Claudia Roden’s The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, which if you are at interested in North African cuisine, you should buy at once. It is very earthy, as all the ingredients create smooth, “brown” flavors that are comforting on chilly days. I added wine although I know real Muslims would not do so. If it is too comfy for you and you want a little zing, add some lemon juice at the very end.
Serves 6.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 90 minutes
- 1 large onion, slivered into half-moons
- 4 tablespoons duck fat or olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 pounds duck legs and wings
- Salt and fresh pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 1 cup of duck or chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 pound prepped chestnuts
- 1 16-ounce can cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- A dash of rosewater (optional)
- Sear off the duck pieces in the duck fat or olive oil over medium-high heat. Do not rush this step and get as much of the pieces nice and browned as possible. Set aside and season with some salt.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Add the onion and brown it in the oil or fat. When it is almost done, add the garlic and thyme. Season with some salt.
- Once the onion and garlic are browned, layer them at the bottom of a tagine or a brazier or a Dutch oven and arrange the duck piece on top. Make sure the skin side of the duck is facing up.
- Add the flour to the pan you seared the ducks and onion in – still over medium-high heat – and stir to combine, making a roux. Let this turn a nice tan, then add the wine and deglaze. Add the tomato paste, all the spices and the duck broth and combine. Bring to a boil and add to the duck pieces in the braising pan. Do not let the liquid cover the duck; you want it to come up a little more than halfway.
- Cover the pot and cook in the oven for an hour. At the hour mark, add the chestnuts by tucking them in between the duck pieces. Cover and cook another 15 minutes.
- After 15 minute add the chickpeas. Cover and cook another 15-20 minutes.
- When everything is tender, uncover the pot and let it rest a little, maybe 10 minutes. Sprinkle over the rosewater.
- Serve with bread or couscous or rice, with some pickles nearby.
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