Recipes

Ken Harker's Confit duck leg spring roll with pickled red cabbage, yoghurt and cumin

Slice the spring roll diagonally across before serving with pickled cabbage and a drizzle of cumin yogurt. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

Ken Harker
Sat Dec 12 2015 - 01:00
Serves: 6
Course: Starter
Cooking Time: 0 hr 24 mins
Ingredients
  • Serves six
  • Spring roll:
  • 6 duck legs
  • 40g sea salt flakes
  • Spice mix (6 juniper berries, 6 peppercorns, 2 star anise, 15 cumin seeds)
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 large bay leaf
  • 600g duck fat
  • 1 large carrot grated
  • 2 shallots finely diced
  • 1 large sprig of flat parsley chopped
  • 2 packets feuille de brick pastry (or filo pastry)
  • Pickled cabbage:1 large red cabbage
  • 250g sweet dessert wine
  • 200g white wine vinegar
  • 200g sugar
  • 2 star anise
  • 1 tbsp mustard seeds
  • 6 cloves
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • Cumin yoghurt:1 small tub natural unsweetened, or Greek yoghurt
  • Ground cumin, to taste

CONFIT DUCK: Marinate the duck legs for 12 hours in the salt and the spice mix. Afterards, gently remove any excess salt and spices (but do not wash under the tap). Gently melt the duck fat. Place the duck legs in a deep tray with the rosemary, the thyme and the bay leaf and cover with melted duck fat and bake at 140 degrees/gas 3, for three hours.

SPRING ROLLS: When they are cooked, and cool enough to handle, remove the duck legs from the duck fat. Remove all the meat from the bone and add to the grated carrot, shallots and flat parsley. Check seasoning – it may not need any due to the salt marinade.

Lay out two sheets of pastry and brush with egg yolk. Lay the filling across in a straight line and roll, tucking ends under to create a spring roll.

Place on greaseproof paper and bake in a pre-heated oven at 190 degrees/gas 5, for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is golden and crisp.

PICKLED RED CABBAGE: Finely slice the cabbage, as fine as you can, and place in a bowl. Add all the other ingredients to a pot and bring to the boil. Pour the hot pickle over the cabbage and allow to cool. This will hold for a long time, so can be made days in advance. It is ready to use immediately, but leaving it overnight is best.

CUMIN YOGHURT: Add ground cumin to taste to the yoghurt and mix in well. This too can be made a day in advance. PLATE UP: Trim off the ends and slice the spring roll diagonally across before serving with pickled cabbage and a drizzle of cumin yogurt.

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