Been going through a new recipe phase this week. Tuesday night it was Griddled Lamb Chops with Chunky Salsa, served with Best Ever French Beans, both from Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food book, which was a Christmas gift from my mum.

Wednesday night was Good Old Chilli Con Carne from the same book.

The lamb was quick, easy and tasty, but the chilli was competing with our usual chilli made with a jar of Asda Hot Chilli Sauce, so it wasn't quite as quick to make, but it did make enough for us to freeze - thus saving time another day. It certainly had fresher deeper flavours than the jar and brought with it the satisfaction of having cooked it completely from scratch. Definitely recommended.

Friday night it was Asian Squash Salad with Crispy Duck from Jamie At Home. Jamie excelled himself with this one. It was a taste explosion - seriously delicious. I am going to share the recipe here as Jamie has already been on US TV with this, and the receipe is already on the web, so I consider it as being in the public domain.



You will need:
a whole duck
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a small bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked and chopped

For the roasted squash:
1-2 dried red chillies, crumbled
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large butternut squash or 2 onion squash, quartered
olive oil

For the dressing:
zest and juice of 1-2 limes
extra virgin oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon soft brown sugar
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely grated
5 green onions, white parts trimmed and finely sliced, green ends finely chopped
a large bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked and stalks finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Wash the duck and pat it dry, inside and out, with paper towels, then rub it all over, inside as well, with salt and pepper. Place it in a pan and roast in the preheated oven for around 2 hours, turning it ever now and then. Halfway through, you'll probably need to drain away a lot of the fat from the bird. (I did as Jamie suggests and kept the fat in the fridge for roasting potatoes).

In a pestle and mortar bash up the dried chillies and coriander seeds and add the ground cinnamon and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Scoop the seeds out of your squash and put them to one side. Cut the squash into wedges, place them in a roasting tray, and drizzle over enough olive oil just to coat. Sprinkle over the ground spices and give the squash a good toss, spreading the pieces out in one layer. Once the duck has been in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, add the pan of squash to the oven and roast for about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse the squash seeds after removing any fibres. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Toast them in a dry frying pan until they're golden and crisp, and put aside (I didn't bother with this bit).

To make the dressing, put the lime juice and zest into a bowl and add the same amount of extra virgin olive oil, plus the sesame oil and the soy sauce. Stir in the sugar, chilli, garlic, the green onion ends and coriander stalks. Taste and adjust the sweet-and-sourness and the seasoning. You want it to be a little limey, to contrast with the rich duck.

After 2 hours, if the duck is nice and crispy, and the squash soft and sticky, take both pans out of the oven. If they need more time, leave them in until perfectly done. Using two forks, shred the duck meat off the bone and put into a large bowl. (OK, I did everything by the book and my duck wasn't crispy, but I really don't think it needs to be. I also did not find that the duck could be shredded off the bone with two forks, and after a frenzied attack on the duck with a large carving knife I managed to get most of the meat off the bird. All I am saying is don't expect it to be falling off the bone.)

While the duck and squash are still warm, toss with the toasted seeds, half the coriander leaves, half the mint and half the white onion slices. Pour on the dressing and toss together. Serve sprinkled with the rest of the coriander, mint and white onion slices.

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I promise you, it's one of Jamie's triumphs and you will really impress your dinner guests.

Look out for Jamie on TV this Thursday 29th January as part of Channel 4's Great British Food Fight season. In 'Jamie Saves our Bacon' he will be showing us the ins and snouts of the pig industry and hopes to encourage the nation to buy British.

Labels: cooking