When someone asks me, “What’s Pablo having today?”, and I
answer, “Duck”, I immediately get that “how fancy, how French” vibe… Somehow,
duck sounds fancy, something you only have in a restaurant. Yet, it can be as
simple to cook as a roasted chicken, and doesn’t cost a lot more. And duck meat
is wonderfully flavorful.
I was born in
where I learned the true meaning of the word “gastronomy”. It’s a place full of
smells: it’s where I smelled a tomato on the vine for the first time. Where the melons and peaches at the market in
summer are huge and as sweet as can be. It is of course the home of the
truffle, my passion and obsession. And a place where duck is a staple.
So, inspired by the wonderful dishes from the southwest region
of
(cassoulets, etc), I decided to combine roasted duck with white cannellini
beans and roasted rosemary tomatoes.
Variety being a
key component to my strategy with Pablo, I started him on duck (among the other
meats: beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, veal) around 8 months. At first, I bought
duck breast, which I steamed and mixed with vegetables (it goes well with
turnip). This is a bit more involved, but for an ultra-simplified version, see
the end of the recipe.
Duck with white beans and roasted tomatoes
Age : 8-10 months.
Health benefits: Duck meat is very high in iron. And most of
its fat, which is “good” fat anyway, aka polyunsaturated, is in the skin or
just below, easily removed from the meat.
1 duck
1 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp olive oil
Salt & pepper
2 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp of rosemary olive oil
1/2 can organic cannellini beans, rinsed*
(*You could make the beans from scratch, but I must admit, being busy as moms get, when I found canned organic cannellini beans with bpa free lining, I jumped on them!)
12 cherry tomatoes.
The duck:
Preheat the oven at 400°
Brown the duck with the butter and olive oil on all sides in
a large dutch oven.
Place the duck breast-side down. Sprinkle with salt and
pepper. Add ¼ cup of water.
Place the uncovered dutch oven in the oven and roast for about
45 mn, basting every 15-20 minutes.
The tomatoes:
Put some fresh rosemary and the garlic cloves in the olive
oil, let it marinate for 20 minutes (I also make rosemary garlic olive oil by
leaving a few cloves of garlic and some fresh rosemary in an olive oil bottle,
so it’s always handy.)
Plunge the tomatoes in boiling water for 10 seconds, to peel
them easily.
Cut them in half and place them in an oven-safe platter. Drizzle
some rosemary olive oil (with the garlic cloves) over the tomatoes. Roast them
at 425° for about 10 minutes.
The mix (to make 4 x 2 oz portions):
Put about 3 oz of roasted duck breast (skin removed), ½ can
of cannellini beans (rinsed in cold water), the roasted tomatoes (with the garlic cloves) in the food
processor and mix to desired consistency.
Old toddler option: You can serve the duck breast (cut-up),
the beans and the roasted tomatoes on one plate.
Ultra easy option: The slightly “fancy” option above
can be shortened by simply purchasing duck breast. Simply
steam 3 oz of duck breast with the tomatoes and ½ garlic clove for about 15 mn.
Add the cannellini beans, perhaps some fresh thyme, and mix in the food
processor.
