As you all know I am a big proponent of fresh foods.
I rarely buy prepared foods of any sort and it’s even more rare when I buy something in a can.
Except for duck confit.
Okay, I admit I bought chicken confit once but I really prefer the duck.
Of course one gets two things when buying a can of duck confit; the duck and lots of fat for frying potatoes.
And we normally get at least two meals out of the actual duck. There are usually five leg quarters in a can. If I’m cooking for more than just us I use it all in cassoulet.
For the two of us I’ve been making Roast Duck Confit. It’s fully-cooked so it only requires heating (and getting rid of the fat coating.)
The rest of the duck goes into my favorite risotto.
Okay, okay….. I sometimes buy white beans in a can, too.
Duck Confit Risotto with White Beans
Total time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup (4.2oz, 125gr) Arborio rice (or other rice specifically for risotto – Carnaroli or Vialone Nano)
- 1/2 cup (4oz, 120ml) dry, white wine
- 2 1/4 cups (18oz, 540ml) chicken stock
- 1/2 onion other half for the condimenti
- 2 tsp olive oil (or duck fat)
- 3/4 cup (2oz, 60gr) Parmesan cheese – freshly grated
- Condimenti:
- 1 1/2 cups duck confit (about one leg quarter)
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 cup (8oz, 240gr) chopped tomatoes,
- 1 cup (8oz 240gr) white beans, cannellini
- 2 tsp olive oil (or duck fat)
Instructions:
- Heat chicken stock and keep hot over low heat.
- Finely chop onion.
- In medium sauce pan heat oil. Add onion and sauté until transparent. Add rice and sauté, stirring, for 2 – 3 minutes until rice has white center. Add white wine and stir.
- Start condimenti.
- When wine is almost absorbed add a 1/3 cup of stock, stir. (No need to stir constantly but do stir from time to time.) When stock is almost absorbed add another 1/3 cup and continue adding 1/3 cup at a time and stirring. Before you add the last 1/3 cup taste a few kernels of rice. They should be just ‘al dente’ – slightly resistant to the tooth but fully cooked. If more stock is needed add it 1 tbs at a time and waiting until almost completely absorbed. At this point risotto will be thick but not stiff – there will still be visible liquid and it will not hold it’s shape on a plate.
- Add the Parmesan and the condimenti, stir well, spoon into a bowl or risotto platter and serve immediately.
- Condimenti:
- While risotto is cooking, heat oil in a medium skillet.
- Add the rest of the onion and sauté until tender.
- Add the tomato, duck and beans. Turn heat to low and allow to simmer until needed.
A long, long time ago, in a place far, far away, back in the beginning of time, I sold computers.
The were big computers, and expensive.
They were into ‘clean’ rooms with false floors and separate air-conditioners that only special people were allowed to enter.
There were tall towers with lots and lots of blinking lights; banks of disk drives with disks the size of dinner plates stacked 12 high, and cables the size of my wrist connecting it all.
They had less than 10% of the power and storage of my current mobile phone.
I sold them and it was my job to make sure they worked as ordered and that the customer was happy.
One thing was always the same…..
If there was a problem the software people blamed it on the hardware and the hardware people blamed it on the software. It was up to me to sort it out.
Computing power may have increased exponentially, but software people and hardware people, and now ‘app’ people are still playing fast and loose with who gets to solve the problems.
It’s still up to me to sort it out and I’m going to get back to that now….
It’s always something, isn’t it?
Other than spam which I admit, I have a love/hate relationship with (love spam, hate the salt!) I’ve never had any other meat from a can. Not that spam can necessarily be considered ‘meat’ because it’s…ham…and other stuff. Never mind. Let me start again.
I’ve never had duck in a can. Looks intriguing.
I started with computers in 1980 I believe, with a computer in our office the size of my couch and floppys that were so slow to back up on that it took an hour and a half every night. Now, my phone backs up to the cloud in 30 seconds or less and holds thousands of times the amount that the old office one did. But you’re right. No one wants to take responsibility. They pawn the problem off on someone else.
I am also a ‘from scratch’ cook !!
nighstmusic, duck confit is just one of those things that is canned or bottled. If you make it at home you have to do it and I’m not ready to start preserving meats…. I have enough to do figuring out what Google wants next LOL
Kate – except for the duck ;-))
I WANT this risotto!! Duck confit… mmmmmmmm…. And white beans. This sounds like heaven.
I love that you can get duck confit in a can. I remember noticing various tinned confits at an ordinary supermarket in Tarascon. And foie gras – a whole shelf full of various kinds. And decent looking wine – a whole aisle.
Supermarkets are different in France than they are in Canada.