Asian roasted goose breast

Easter giving you goose bumps? Fear not - we've got just the treat for you!

Goose made its first ever appearance in our kitchen a couple of weeks ago. Rumours had been telling me that a certain German supermarket chain stocks goose breasts in their freezer and for cheap, too : the whole breast only set me back €10!

It's lovely size, too and feeds up to 4 Sunday lunchers. What we were not prepared for was the fact that it came still attached to the breast plate. So, you can either cook it on the bone (which is really something I only recommend if you have a reliable thermometer and the ability to use it correctly...) and take the breasts apart after the cooking or remove the breasts either before marinating or before hitting the pan.

The inner temperature you're looking for is 55-58ºC. In case you cook the breast without the bone, you'll get to this after 8-10 minutes at 180ºC oven.

Our goose was bathed in Asian marinade and oh MY, how delicious it turned! Can't wait to make this one again. And hey, if you can't find goose, the recipe works just as well with duck, too. 

Asian roasted goose breast:

1 goose breast (appr. 900 g)

Marinade:

2 dl soy sauce

1 dl honey

2 large garlic cloves, minced

5 cm piece fresh ginger, minced

1/2 dl mirin

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground cloves

Combine the ingredients for the marinade. Pat the goose breast dry and score the skin in a diamond pattern. Pour over the marinade and let marinate in the fridge, covered (turning every now and then) for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

The following day lift the bird out of the marinade and pat dry. Drain the marinade into a pot and over high heat reduce until thickened and syrupy. Check the taste and, if desired, add more sugar/ honey.

Heat oven to 180ºC. Place the goose breasts (skin side down) on a cold pan and bring the heat up. Fry until the ski is golden brown and crisp. Drain excess fat off the pan if needed. Then turn and brown the other side as well.

Finish cooking the bird in the oven, basting a couple of times with the marinade. Once you've reached the right temperature, remove from the oven, cover in foil and let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Cut to slices and serve with rice and steamed/ stir-fried Bok Choy.

Stir-fried Bok Choy:

2 Bok Choys

some oil for frying

1/2 tsp sesame oil, white pepper 

to serve: toasted sesame seeds or cashew nuts

Separate the leaves and cut into smaller pieces. Rinse off any soil there might be and pat dry (water will make the oil splash!).

Heat a little oil in a pan/ wok. First stir fry the stems and after a couple of minutes once they've softened, add the leaves. Season (with a bit of soy too if you want but be careful - there's quite a bit of taste and salt in the goose breasts) and serve.

And if the goose kicked ass, so did the wine pairing. Choosing a red wine for Asia meats with soy-based, salty sauce/ dressing/ marinade might seem a bit tricky, but bear in mind the chemistry of food and wine pairings: saltiness tends to soften the tannins sometimes resulting in a very mellow and harmonious combinations. 

This Italian from the Puglia region won me over with the rock n' roll attitude of the bottle alone. Jammy and rich to a point of incredible, it has exceptionally high residual sugar content and as such goes very well with spicy (and Asian-inspired) sauces and BBQ- treats. Exceeded all expectations - The Mane Magician who doesn't even drink red wine couldn't stop raving about it!

Zinfandel is considered a native grape to US and it has been cultivated there for a good couple of hundred years already. In Italy the grape is known as Primitivo and its light, berry notes are a great match for a variety of vegetarian dishes (especially ones with tomato!) and pizzas, too. This Italian stubbornly claims to be 100% Zinfandel so, go figure.

The wine has been awarded in international wine competitions, too and I can see why. Definitely worth getting to know!

So, how about having some goose for Easter..?

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Gourmet fast food: duck confit pizza

At an interview a little while back I was asked what my favourite food was. How can anyone give just one answer to a question like that? It depends on so many things: the time of the year (and month...), your mood, the country you're in... everything! But yeah, pizza is one thing I can't imagine ever getting tired of. 

One of the very first things I remember noticing about The Boy Next Door during one of our very first dates was the fact that he ate his pizza just right. First he cut the pizza in slices, which he then lifted off the plate with his fingers, curving the slice just a little and into the mouth it went. "But pizza should be eaten with bare hands" he said, puzzled, as I studied all this with a smile on my face. Damn right it should!

So, I knew straight away what our entry would be for OivaPari recipe contest Pernod Ricard just launched for Campo Viejo Reserva 2008. The first three legs of the contest this spring were such a blast I couldn't wait for the next ones - especially after learning that the theme for the next three legs is that oh, so trendy fast food. But with a gourmet twist. You just watch this space - there are some serious treats coming your way later this year!

We paired the wine, medium-bodied with gentle spiciness and cherry and fig notes, with pizza. Not just any old pizza though, but pizza with stewed fennel, red onions and (wait for it...) duck confit! (I suppose it was only a  matter of time before my beloved duck found its way into a pizza, too...) And a fine pair it was, too. 

The dark, spicy notes of the pizza sauce add a little sharpness to the fatty richness of the duck, compliment the spicy notes of the wine and the pomegranate seeds add a nice burst of fresh berriness. 

You'll find the recipe for the crust here. I made a double dose this time, so depending on the size you'll get 4-5 large pizzas.

Prepare the dough and leave to rise in the fridge. You make the dough up to 3 days in advance. 

Pour onto a lightly floured surface and punch away the air bubbles. Divide into 4 and roll into balls. Brush with oil, cover loosely with cling film and a tea towel and leave to rise for another hour in a warm, draft-free place. In the meanwhile make the sauce and prepare the toppings. 

Pizza sauce:

2 dl red wine

2 tsp Chinese fivespice ( a blend of ground ginger, anise, fennel seeds and cinnamon bark) 

1 tsp ground cloves

2 tsp finely grated orange zest

3/4 dl good cranberry jelly

1 tbsp brown sugar

500 g passata

salt, black pepper

Measure wine into a pot with fivespice, orange zest and cloves. Bring to boil and cook for 5 minutes. Then add cranberry jelly and let it melt. Then add sugar and passata. Cook over medium heat for half and hour. Let cool. Check taste and season with salt and pepper (and more sugar if desired).

Toppings:

4 mozzarella balls (á 125 g)

4 duck leg confits (recipe here if you don't want to use tinned ones)

2 bulbs of fennel

1 large red onion

To serve: coriander leaves, pomegranate seeds

Drain mozzarella and grate. Squeeze the grated cheese through some kitchen towels to get rid of excess moisture. Peel the leathery outer layers off the fennels, cut in half and remove the tough core. Cut into thin slices and sauté in a little bit or butter until softened. Add a little water and cook over low heat under the lid until soft - depending on the thickness 15-25 minutes. Drain and let cool.  Peel red onion and cut into thin slices. Drain the ducks (reserve the fat and use it for say, roasties!), peel off the skin and using your fingers, shred to chunks of desired size. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

Pre-heat oven to 250º. If using pizza stone, put it in the oven now. If you don't own one, leave the tray in the oven to heat. This helps the crust to get crisp. Once oven has reached the right temperature, keep the stone in for another 45 minutes. 

On a floured surface roll the dough into thin discs. Since I myself haven't mastered the art of pizza-baking and fail to get round crusts that would satisfy my OCD-like quest of symmetry I use a big plate and cut the dough around it with a pizza-cutter. Voilà! The leftovers can be worked together into another pizza. 

Spread a little sauce on the crust (go easy on the toppings to avoid a soggy, sad pizza!) , followed by cheese, then fennel shavings, red onion and finally duck confit (This way they'll get that lovely crust). Bake until cheese has melted and crust has a little colour on it - about 8-10 minutes. 

Before serving sprinkle some pomegranate seeds and/or coriander leaves on top. And enjoy. For instance with Campo Viejo Reserve 2008! PS. For this the wine is best served a little chilled.

*In collaboration with Pernod Ricard Finland and their Oiva Pari recipe contest*

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Vietnamese duck rolls

Though the climate in Helsinki has put my faith in a serious test, it's got to be believed. You hear it in the birds singing in the morning, getting more and more cheerful each day, in the sun whose rays warm a weary soul and the first flowers, pushing defiantly through the soil. Spring, boys and girls, spring! It's finally here!

A food blogger is particularly excited having survived a cold, dark winter as the days are getting longer and the amount of natural light is growing every day. That, you see, means, that I can finally plan cooking (and eating and photographing it!) beyond that meagre 2-hour-window on weekend mornings! (yes, that's how obsessive the hunt for a good photo is...)

And spring, that is the time for starting a lighter life. And if you're anything like me, it's about time, too. Those slow roasted chunks of meat and sturdy stews sure have left their mark - not just in my memories, but around my waist too..! Don't get me wrong - we're not swearing off meat in my kitchen (ooooh nooo!) - animals simply taste best when they're dead! Over the recent months I've reignited my love for duck, which people often tend to find too fatty and robust (for absolutely no reason!) You've already seen it being confited, roasted, fried, dressed in salads and even shoved into burgers.

With spring I find myself (counting days to summer and summer holidays) turning more and more to Asia for inspiration. Their use of fresh veggies and aromatic herbs is just something I can't get enough of. And so even a duck gets a spring-time makeover and a whole new wardrobe as it gets wrapped in rice paper. We used the last of our lovingly stored duck leg confits, but the recipe below yields every bit as delicious results. I warmed the legs under the broiler as I did with that scrumptious pear and duck confit salad.

Light and warmth do wonders to my Northern psyche. I actually seek the company of others, find myself smiling for no reason and the energy levels are through the roof! Sure, I could claim I spent my winter months in the light of hand-made artisanal scented candles, on my Chesterfield sofa at my library, feasting on vintage Barolo... but let's face it - you wouldn't believe that for a second. So yes, the truth is closer to hiding under a duvet, wearing every single pair of woolen socks I own in the company of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills- marathon. 

But now it's time to chuck aside both hiding and woolen socks (and while at it, casually ignore the need for a spring clean up that the spring sun so ruthlessly tends to reveal) and get your friends together! These Vietnamese duck rolls can be made in advance, which makes them fantastic party food. And if you hold on just a little while longer, you can pack these in a picnic basket! Just think - the scent of freshly cut grass, a blanket spread in a sunny park, the best friends in the world, chilled rosé, screams of the seagulls and the laughter bubbling in the air long into the evening.

These take a bit of work, yes, but a cunning lazy hostess turns that into audience participation number! You just prep the ingredients and everyone gets to stuff their own rolls exactly the way they like them!

According to what's available you can use just about any veggies in these. Boiled and cooled glass noodles work too. Nuts on the other hand lend the rolls lovely crunch. Another thing that makes these so perfect for parties is the way they suit most of the dietary restrictions: you can skip the meat and make these entirely vegetarian and these are dairy- and gluten-free!

makes about 18

1 packet rice paper sheets

Filling:

2 carrots

10 cm piece leek

1 smallish cucumber

1/2 packet (about 75 gr) mange tout

1 bunch of coriander

2 duck breasts (or duck leg confits)

To serve: Hoisin sauce

Duck:

1/2 dl soy sauce

1/4 dl honey

a couple of cm piece of fresh ginger finely minced

2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

Combine the ingredients for the marinade and pour into a plastic bag with the ducks. Let marinate for at least 4 hours or until the next day. Turn around a couple of times.

Pat the duck, score the fatty side almost to the meat but not quite and place on a cold pan. Then turn the heat on and continue frying until the fatty side is nicely golden brown. Turn over and brown the other side too. There's no need to add oil as the duck fat takes care of all that. If there's too much seeping out, pour some of it out (worth keeping though - it's great for frying!)

Finish cooking at 180 for about 8 minutes. Let cool and cut to thin strips. 

Peel and julienne the veggies (that's Cheffish for match sticks). If you cut them to same length you don't need to worry about them poking through the fragile rice paper either which makes rolling them easier.

B oil some water and keep the water hot throughout the rolling process - hot water helps soften the rice paper so it becomes more pliable. Soak the sheets in water one at a time and then spread over parchment. Smooth it and place the desired amount of filling on the bottom.

Roll the lower edge tightly over the filling and then lift the sides on top and then finish rolling. As the rice paper gets wet, it becomes pliable but also sticky which enables the roll to stick together.

Store the rolls covered. Dip in Hoisin sauce and enjoy!

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Duck confit burgers

The blog has introduced a new tag: street food. Under that one you'll find street credible street food. Like these duck confit burgers. Because everything that's worth doing is worth doing properly.

My love of dead duck has probably become obvious to everybody. Slowly cooked, sublimely succulent confit especially makes me go all weak at the knees. But even I didn't think to stuff a burger with it! That decadent stroke of genius is all down to Streat Helsinki 2014- festival and Richard McCormick.

For just about everything you've always wanted to ask about confiting duck, please see here.

And for making your own burger brioches, please see here.

4 burgers/ 8 sliders

4 regular size burger brioches (or 8 small ones)
2 duck leg confits
1 red onion
salad leaves

to serve: pomegranate seeds and coriander leaves

Heat the duck legs under a broiler for about 15 minutes. Remove the skin and pull the meat into slivers of your liking (they fall off the bone all on their own!). If needed, add some of the fat from the duck to form a mixture that sticks together. Season with some fleur de sel if needed.

Toast brioches in the oven. Top them with salad leaves, mango, chilli and ginger mayonnaise, finely sliced red onions, a pile of shredded duck, pomegaranate seeds and finish off with fresh coriander leaves. I served my burgers with sweet potato fries with an Indian twist (recipe for these to follow tomorrow!) but those polenta fries would work well too (well, when wouldn't they!).

Mango, chilli and ginger mayonnaise:

1,5 dl good mayonnaise
3 generous tbsp mango purée
1/2 - 1 small chilli
1/2 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
zest and juice 1/2 lime 
pinch (about 1/2 tsp) curry powder

Combine the ingredients and let sit in the fridge for about an hour. Check taste and season if needed.

And the result? McDivine! Whopping wonderful!

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Salad with duck confit and pear

With the volume our pantry and fridge gets stocked, every now and then it's good to make some kind of an inventory of the leftovers. And (once again) wonder where the hell all the food goes? Oh, and then there's the matter of starting a lighter life with the summer approaching and all. Unless I intend to source my wedding dress from parachute surplus store...

This salad is the child of a waste minimizing exactly like that. The pears left over from the cheesecake I made for charming the in-laws, pomegranate seeds left over from Lebanese lamb pizza... and the remaining duck legs from the confit-operation for the cassoulet. In case you haven't yet tried your hand at confiting duck legs, it's about time. Once you've had the patience to wait the couple of hours it takes, you'll have treats in your fridge that bring a bit of luxury into any day! 

As for the pomegranate seeds go, none of that "cut the fruit in half, knock on it and just watch the seeds fall off" has ever worked for me. Ever. The method I find easiest is cutting the fruit in half and then halving each of those halves. See, the seeds live in clusters in a comb-like structure. Once you bend the quarter, you'll get access to each of the combs and it's easy to scoop out each one in an easy and mess-free way!

If cheese is your thing, brie or goat cheese (maybe Gorgonzola...?) would work in the salad, too.

The salad feeds 2 (generously) - 4 (elegantly) people

70 g box of rucola or mixed salad leaves

2 confit duck legs

1 pear
1 (small) stalk of celery

1 red onion

60 cashew nuts

the seeds of 1/4 - 1/2 pomegranate (depending on the size)

to serve: pomegranate molasses

Warm the duck legs under a broiler at 220° until the skin crisps up. Remoive the skin and using a fork shred the meat (it practically falls off by itself by now) and season if needed. Peel and finely slice the onion. Peel the pear, halve lengthwise, remove the core and slice. Chop the celery to chunks of about 1/2 cm. Toast the nuts in a hot, dry pan until they get a nice, golden colour. Keep an eye on them as they burn easily.

Put the salad together. Place the salad leaves, onion and celery on a plate and scatter the pear on top. Add duck meat and sprinkle nuts and pomegranate seeds on top. Serve with a drizzle of pomegranate molasses.

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Duck ragú

The confit operation that was needed for cassoulet left me with 2 duck legs with nowhere to go. So into the ragú they went. But much like cassoulet itself, making ragú is such a time-consuming enterprise that you might want to double the batch . If the legs are small (under 200 g) you might want to use 3 instead of 2.

As far as the prep goes, there are two ways of doing it: either stewing it in the sauce until it's fall-off-the-bone tender or roast it first and then finish cooking over slow heat. Since this recipe from Jamie (I would love to think I and Mr. Oliver were actually on first name basis...!) also made use of the crisp duck skin (which, let's face is sort of the best part anyway!) in the form of pangritata; a crisp crumble made of the duck skin and some stale bread sprinkled on top of the ragú, I, too, went for roasting. Ragú could also be made in the oven in low temperature: just forget it in there for a couple of hours and let it come together!

Recommended wine for this is Italian Chianti, which our extensive wine reservoirs (at the time down to one bottle of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon) didn't stock. The most ideal pasta would be pappardelle, which I was sure we had. Turned out we didn't (who the hell is running this production?!), so tagliatelle it was. You could of course make your own pasta too - see the recipe here!

Serves 2 (fairly generously)

The duck:

2 (large) duck legs

2 large garlic cloves

4 sprigs of thyme (or a couple of sprigs of rosemary)

olive oil, salt, pepper

Rub salt and pepper onto the ducks. Peel and gently bruise the garlic cloves with the back of a knife. Place them, along with the herbs into a small roasting tin/ oven dish that snugly accommodates the ducks. Roast at 180 for an hour until the skin is crisp and duck is done. Baste a couple of times with the duck fat that seeps into the bottom of the dish. If your ducks don't really have any fat, drizzle some olive oil on top.

Remove from the dish and let cool for a while. Drain the fat (use it for sweating the sofrito). Peel the skin off the duck and pull the meat apart.

Rinse the oven dish with a dash of red wine, scraping off any bits stuck to the bottom - we want to get all the flavours out.

The sauce:

1 onion

1 small carrot (or 1/2 larger one)

1/2 celery stick

1 (cassia)cinnamon stick

4 allspice peppers

1,5 dl red wine

2 bay leaves

5 sprigs of thyme (or a couple of sprigs of rosemary)

1/2 dl raisins

1 tin of crushed tomatos

1/2 tin of water

1 tbsp game fond (or 1/2 chicken stock cube)

Prepare sofrito: finely chop the onion and dice celery and carrot into small cubes. Sweat them in either olive oil or duck fat until soft - about 15 minutes. Then pour in red wine and let reduce for about 15 minutes. Then add rest of the ingredients along with duck meat. Let simmer over moderate heat for 1,5 hours or so until the sauce has reduced, thickened and is fairly dry.

Cook pasta according to the instructions on the packet, toss into the ragú and scatter the pangritata on top. Oh yeah, and some parmesan.

Pangritata:

The skins from the ducks

small slice of stale bread (or 1 generous tbsp bread crumbs)
1 tbsp fresh parsley or thyme
1 small garlic clove

Blizz the ingredients in a blender. Heat a small pan and toast the crumbs until very crisp (use either olive oil or duck fat) over medium heat. Scatter on top of the pasta.

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Cassoulet with duck confit

Say what?! Only a couple of weeks ago the evening papers were full of lofty promises of the winter being over for good. No more snow, hello spring. But no such luck. Right now it's snowing. If (on top of UN, multinational companies and the goodwill and peace-loving nature of Vladimir Putin) you can't trust the weather man, who can you? 

On the other hand... I doubt I'm ready to start the annual (and each year as half-hearted) efforts to get into bikini shape either. Though this year I find consolation in the fact that the thigh I burned in the truffle-making endeavours in the run-up to Hanukkah/ Christmas/ Kwanzaa still hasn't fully healed so I finally have an actual excuse not to look good in a bikini!

And then there's the best of the flea market finds: a cast iron pot from Le Creuset which I've been dreaming of initiating in the form of a comforting, slow-roasting stew. And when, as I was making inventory of all the things I didn't even remember my freezer housed, I discovered some duck legs I didn't have to think twice. Cassoulet, bien sûr! The flea market finds and other additions to the staging prop arsenal get introduced to the  readers on the blog's Facebook page - do join! Your comments, feedback, ideas and requests are always welcome!

Like with any traditional, rustic dishes, there are as many versions of cassoulet as there are cooks. But in my opinion the best ones have duck in them. And in my opinion duck is best in confit. (if that's your thing by the way you have to check this rabbit confit Sevillan style!)

To save time you can of course buy the duck confit - they come in tins of about 6 legs.

The backbone of my cassoulet was this recipe by Williams Sonoma, though owing to the ingredients that had found their way into my kitchen, lack of patience and general carelessness I did make some detours. Be warned though: quick and easy this ain't. Unlike with Fabada Asturiana, I didn't even attempt to devise a short-cut and started off with soaking the beans and all. And since I made my own duck confit, this is a two-day process. So, you might want to double the ingredients and , with same effort, make a bigger batch and gather your friends and family (and some neighbours) to dig in!

Good thing about duck confit is that stored in the fat they keep in the fridge for up to a month, so I recommend you make a bigger batch. Broil them later to get that crisp skin and use the melt-in-your-mouth-succulent meat in salads or in dimsums!

I used 2 large legs in this, but if yours are on the small side (under 200 g) use 3.

Some recipes follow the traditional way of sprinkling some breadcrumbs on top of the cassoulet for the last 20 minutes of the last phase as they help give the dish a nice crust, but this is so rich already as it is feel free to skip it. This way it also stays gluten-free!

In case you have loads of time in your hands, you can rub the salt into the duck already the night before and let it cure in the fridge overnight.

Serves 4

Duck confit:

4 duck legs
4 large cloves of garlic
8 sprigs of thyme (or 4 sprigs of rosemary)
8 whole black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
salt
1 litre canola oil

Rinse the legs and pat them dry. Rub salt all over them. Peel the garlic cloves and bruise them a bit with the back of a knife. Toss them into a pot (big enough to snugly accommodate the ducks in one layer) along with the rest of the ingredients and pour enough oil on top to cover the duck by about 3 cm.

Bring to simmer and keep cooking them in that way for 2-3 hours until they're done. Remove from heat and let cool in the room temperature. Transfer into a container, cover with the oil and store in the fridge.

Beans:

500 g dry, white beans
1 small onion
1 small carrot
1/2 celery stick
1 bouquet garni 
(or 1 bay leaf, 2 sprigs of thyme and 2 parsley stalks tied together with a kitchen string)
5 garlic cloves
8 allspice peppercorns

Soak the beans for at least 12 hours. Rinse and change the water a couple of times. Peel onion and carrot and finely cube them along with celery. Peel garlic. Drain the beans, pour into a pot along with the rest of the ingredients and pour in enough water to cover the beans by about 3 cm. Bring to boil and then lower the heat. Keep simmering over moderate heat until they're almost done and still firm - about 45 minutes. Drain and cool.

Cassoulet:

2 confit duck legs (3 if they're small)
6 slices of pork belly
1/2 kg good fresh sausage (mine were pork and packed with herbs)
7 dl chicken stock (or game stock)
1/ 2 dl tomato concentrate
1 tsp clove
1/4 dl fat from the duck confit
salt, pepper

Take a bit pot. Cut the pork belly into strips. Pour in the beans, tuck in the duck legs and rest of the ingredients and pour the stock on top. Bring to boil and then lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 1-1,5 hours.

Now heat the oven to 200°. Lift the duck legs and sausages out of the pot (by this point the duck will quite literally fall off the bone!). Pull into chunks of your desired size. Cut the sausages into thick slices. Take big, deep oven dish (or two), spoon in a layer of beans, then a layer of meaty chunks and then top that with another layer of beans. Season as you go along.

Drizzle some confit fat over the top (this helps form a nice crusty top), bake until the top is nicely browned and crisp (about 40 minutes -1 h). Add more stock if it seems to start drying out.

The taste is what you'd expect from comfort food: gentle, soothing and full of promise everything's going to get better again. We served ours with cranberry jelly (him) and Nordic Dynamite- relish (me) which, since I discovered it in Marc Aulen´s book, has found a permanent home in my kitchen. Next time I think I just might replace tomato concentrate with one of those two...!

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Duck the difficult way

There are many ways of doing things. Such as the weekly shop. Basically there are two ways; out of which the easy and pragmatic is the method followed by my British Brother and his wifey the Mane Magician. They pack the car each Sunday, heading to the hypermarket at the outskirts of the city and following their carefully planned spreadsheet get all their shopping conveniently done under one roof.

Then there's the other one; preferred by our family's food blogger. My Saturdays are spent bouncing from one place to another with a shopping list I scribbled on Wednesday but lost it by Thursday already. Meat comes from the market in Hakaniemi, spices and shellfish from the Asian shop and herbs, beans and such from the Oriental Market. Then there's the wine shop and then at the end of the day the (often very aimless) journey takes me to the amusing world of the little speciality shops on Museokatu. Fresh mussels and crusty country bread from Anton & Anton, pastas from Hella & Herkku, dessert treats from Petri's Chocolate Room... It's not a method famed for saving time (or money for that matter) but does have a certain atmosphere. And those little shops are not going to stay in business without business!

And eventually, as I've finally managed to drag all my shopping bags back home, my hands gorilla-like stretched all the way to the ground the nerves will start recovering too as the wine pops open to signal the beginning of the actual cooking (oh yes, the legacy of the legendary Keith Floyd is ferociously kept alive in my kitchen!). The last Tour De Helsinki saw me score some duck, which roasted in the oven with herbs, garlic and Chinese fivespice. And with it there was polenta, infused with some rosemary and orange and a sauce made of cranberry gelée, cassia bark and red wine (yeah, occasionally there's some wine left for the cooking, too!). And as those wonderful scents floated out of my kitchen (and brand new oven!!! I finally have an oven!!!) I once again remembered why those loved ones in my life are worth every extra effort - it's just soooooo nice to get to spoil them!

Serves 2

Duck:

2 duck legs

8 sprigs of thyme

8 sprigs of rosemary

6 large garlic cloves

salt

1/2 tsp Chinese fivespice (a blend of ginger, anis, fennel, pepper and cinnamon bark)

Rub the salt and fivespice onto the duck. Peel garlic cloves and smash them gently with the back of the knife. Place them along with the herbs on the bottom of a roasting tin and the duck on top them. Roast at 190° for about an hour. Baste the duck a couple of times with the fat that seeps out of them. The amount of fat varies from duck to duck, so in case yours are very supermodel-like lean and fat-free, drizzle some oil on top.

After an hour or so drain any fat left on the bottom of the dish (if there's a lot, don't discard it: run it through a sieve, let cool and store in the fridge. Use it for frying  - it makes the best roasties!). Pour the sauce over the duck and continue cooking for another 20 minutes. Then drain the juices, mercilessly smashing the herbs and garlic to make sure they give out every last drop of flavour there is (don't forget to scoop out the paste outside the bottom of the sieve into the sauce!) and serve with the duck and polenta.

The sauce:

3,5 dl red wine

3,5 tbsp good cranberry jelly

1star anise

1 (cassia) cinnamon stick

1/2 tsp grated orange zest

Measure the ingredients into a pot and bring to boil so the jelly dissolves.Cook for 10 minutes, remove the star anise and cinnamon bark and pour over the duck.

Orange and rosemary polenta:

2,5 dl finely ground polenta

5 dl water

(1 chicken stock cube) 
the juice of 1/2 orange

the finely grated zest of 1/2 orange
1 large tbsp of butter
(a couple of dl finely grated parmesan)
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
salt, black pepper

Cook the polenta according to the instructions on the packet, which is roughly like this: Bring water to boil, dissolve the stock cube (if using), add orange zest and juice and whisking vigorously the polenta. Keep whisking to guarantee a lump-free consistency. If it starts thickening too much too soon, add more liquid. Then lower the temperature and continue cooking, covered for 20 minutes. Stir the mixture every now and then to make sure the bottom and the sides won't dry. After 20 minutes check whether it's done. If not, continue cooking for another 10 minutes until soft and creamy. Stir in butter (and parmesan if using) and rosemary. Season with salt (unless you're using parmesan) and pepper. Serve with duck and the sauce. The polenta can be made in advance (the day before, even), and spooned into a oiled dish lined with parchment too and chilled for a couple of hours. Then cut the polenta cake into bits of your preferred size and shape, brush with oil and grill. Tips for this method coming onto the blog soon!

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ANYONE FOR SECONDS?