Roasted Glazed Duck with an Apple and Walnut stuffing

I think Duck is a very tasty meat that is quite under rated within the Western world. It has been the stable of many cultures throughout the world from Mongolia to France. It can be prepared in numerous ways, each exploring the rich flavours and exploiting the nutrients. What many people don't know is duck meat is high in protein (around 18g per 100g), zinc and iron to name but a few.

This is also a great dish for Christmas and will definitely be a spin upon the more traditional birds that are cooked at this festive time. 

So what do you need to make this fowl taste good (see what I did there?):-

1 Duck, about 3 kilos is good for 3-4 people
1 orange
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp vinegar (I used Apple but you can use anything from malt to wine)
250ml chicken stock
2 tbsp Cointreau (optional)
2 tbsp crushed almonds
70g breadcrumbs
40g chopped walnuts
100g sausage meat (or in places where no sausage meat is available buy pork mince and put it in the food processor)
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
handful of thyme and rosemary
1 egg
2 tbsp double cream

Turn your oven on to 225oC. Sauté the onion and garlic in some butter until soft, add to a bowl with the walnuts, breadcrumbs, sausage meat and the thyme and rosemary, mix all together, add some seasoning, the cream and egg, then set to one side. Now prepare your duck by washing it out under the cold tap, inside and out, then using paper towel pat it dry. Remove any obvious bits of fat from inside the bird. With a pin prick the skin all over, do not go too deep. Turn it breast side down and press down until your hear the back breaking (Some of you may find this squeamish, don't worry the duck is dead and won't hold it against you, or you can get your big brave partner to do it), this will help the bird cook more evenly.

Fill the inside with your stuffing mixture (any left over you can make into balls for later) and then put breast side down on a wire rack over a tray. Put into oven for 25 minutes. While it is in the oven make the glaze by first zesting and juicing the orange, then put the vinegar and sugar in a pan and caramelise, it should take about 2-3 minutes. Add the zest and juice to the pan also the Cointreau and chicken stock, put on a higher heat to reduce by half, it should also go thicker.

After the 25 minutes take the duck out of the oven and turn it down to 175oC. Turn the duck so the breast side is facing up, use a spoon or pastry bush to baste the duck. Return to oven and baste every 20 minutes. After one hour check the duck by poking a skewer into the thickest part of the leg, if the juice run clear put the remaining glaze on the duck and sprinkle the almonds on top. Return to oven for 15 minutes and then take out and serve.

This goes great with roasted veggies and a nice rich red wine gravy. I guarantee that it will bring the wow factor to your dinner.

Karjalanpaisti, Karelian Hot Pot A National Dish from Refugees.

Karelian Hot Pot (or Stew) is considered the national dish of Finland but its popularity throughout Finland is a recent occurrence. 75 years ago Finland was plunged into a war that it didn't want, the Soviet Union invaded with over 750,000 troops and all that Finland could do was send 250,000 young men, with antiqued equipment to stand against the Red Bear. After a valiant defence which saw the Soviet Union stalled on every front, peace negotiations managed to end the war. However, despite all that Finland did, it lost 11% of its territory and 30% of its economy. The territory was mainly the eastern region of Karelia and given the choice, the Finnish citizens decided to pack up and move away from the Russia areas leaving a ghost region. This caused the biggest refugee crisis that Finland has seen. With the move, the Karelians brought with them many things, like food, music and history.

One such dish, and the most recognised alongside Karelian Pastries, is the Karelian Hot Pot. This dish arose as a festive meal due to the scarceness of meat. It is another dish that exemplifies the simpleness but wholesome tastiness of Finnish foods. It traditionally uses bits of beef and pork cooked in water, black peppercorns and salt. However, nowadays, it is usually seen with added ingredients like allspice, carrots and onion. It is so quick to prepare and is just braised in a iron pot in the oven.

This is a great dish for those with little time, like on Sundays.

So for a nice feeding of 4/5 people you will want to have:-

250g stewing beef, cut into 1" pieces
250g stewing pork, cut into 1" pieces (alternatively you can use just 500g of beef or pork)
1 large onion, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1tsp salt
1tsp black peppercorns
1tsp allspice
2 bay leaves
250ml beef stock
500ml water

Preheat your oven to 150C. Brown your meat in the iron pot over a medium heat, take out the meat and set aside. Now add a little bit of oil to the pot and add the onions, cook for 30 seconds, add the carrots and meat, salt, peppercorns, all spice and bay leaves. Stir until all mixed and add the stock and water. Cover with a lid and place in oven for 3 and a half hours.

You can also turn it down to 125C and cook for 5 and a half hours.

It is normally served with mash potato and lingonberry jam.

So go on, give it a try, this is a perfect dish for Sundays as you can make it all up the day before and just pop in oven before you head out to church.