italian-style confit of duck

This is a great way to cook as the meat becomes so juicy and sticky, and the skin becomes dead crispy. Confit of duck is traditionally duck legs which have been preserved after simmering in their own fat. It can be stored for 3 or 4 months in the larder or fridge. It’s best kept in a sterilized jar, but to be honest I’ve used plastic containers quite successfully and kept them in the fridge for a couple of months. Duck or goose fat is available from supermarkets or good butchers.

SERVES 8
MARINADE

Finely grate the orange zest into a pestle and mortar and bash with the remaining marinade ingredients. Rub this over the duck legs and leave overnight so the flavours penetrate and any moisture drips out.

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas 3. Brush the marinade off the duck legs and put them into a small sturdy roasting tray. Add the duck or goose fat. Put the tray into the oven and cook for about 2 hours, or until the skin of the duck is crisp and the meat is tender, spooning the fat over the duck legs every so often. Around 5 minutes before the end, add the rosemary, bay, juniper berries and peppercorns to the tray to crisp up.

Take the tray out of the oven and allow the duck legs to cool a little. Put them into a sterilized container or tub with the rosemary, bay, juniper berries and peppercorns. Pour over the fat from the roasting tray — you may want to sieve it. Cover and allow to cool. The confit is now ready to store in the fridge.

When you’re ready to eat, just remove the number of duck legs you need. Put them on a roasting tray in a hot oven at full whack (240°C/475°F/gas 9) for 20 minutes, or until the skin is really crisp and the meat is so tender it will fall off the bone.

Try this: Lovely served with roasted radicchio (see page 214).

Or this: Whole onions can be added to the tray with the duck legs — they roast really well on a low heat for a couple of hours.

roasted radicchio

In England we never really think about roasting radicchio as a vegetable. In fact, most people don’t like it that much — it has a slight bitterness to it. But in Italy and France they cook radicchio and its slightly slimmer brother, which the Italians call treviso, as well as other relatives called cicoria and Belgian endive. By adding various herbs and spices to radicchio so many different flavours can be experienced — sweet, sour or smoky, for example. Here’s a great way of cooking with radicchio — it can be made into a warm salad with other fresh salad leaves, served alongside fish and meat, or chopped up and used in risottos or pasta dishes.

SERVES 4

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5. Carefully cut the radicchio into quarters — try to keep the core intact so all the leaves stay together. Bash the garlic and thyme to a pulp in a pestle and mortar, then stir in 6 tablespoons of oil. Season lightly with sea salt and black pepper, then drizzle this flavoured oil over the radicchio so the flavour gets right into it. Wrap pancetta around each radicchio quarter, leaving the core exposed to the heat — this will protect the delicate leaves and give it a fantastic flavour. Place the radicchio quarters in an ovenproof dish in which they will fit snugly, and drizzle over the balsamic vinegar. Roast in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the leaves have softened and the pancetta is beautifully crisp.

roasted trout & artichokes with almonds, breadcrumbs & mint

I used to go trout-fishing with Grandad when I was a kid. We would catch them, then go back to his pub and grill them with a little bit of butter. I liked to eat them with fried potatoes and onions and a squeeze of lemon. In the picture here I’ve used one large trout, but it works just as well if you use individual trout or salmon fillets.

SERVES 4

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7 and rub a roasting tray with a little oil. Lay 4 of the trout fillets, skin side down, on the tray, with a few bits of string under each. Lightly toast the almonds in the oven for 2 minutes (watch carefully as they don’t take long), then bash in a pestle and mortar — try to get some powdery and some chunky. Tip into a bowl and rip in the mint. Take the crusts off the ciabatta and whiz in a food processor or chop up. Add to the bowl with the finely grated lemon zest, chopped garlic, artichoke hearts, 4 tablespoons of oil and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Mix well and sprinkle over each trout fillet. Place the other 4 fillets on top, skin side up, laying a bacon rasher along the top of each one, and secure with the string. Sprinkle the thyme over the top and any excess filling in and around the tray. Place in the middle of the oven and cook for 15 minutes, or until the trout is golden and crisp. Season the yoghurt with salt and pepper and squeeze in a little lemon juice.

When the fish is ready, cut the string and serve the fillets with a nice drizzle of yoghurt and a green salad. Give everyone a wedge of lemon on their plate for squeezing over.

slow-roasted balsamic tomatoes with baby leeks & basil

This is one of those recipes that, apart from being damn tasty, is kind of slapdash but so easy to make and consistently good. You can really get some mileage out of it. The key things are to get yourself some best-quality plum tomatoes and buy some cheap balsamic vinegar, as you’ll be using a lot of it.

SERVES 6

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas 3.

Score the tops of the tomatoes with a cross. Take an earthenware dish that the tomatoes will fit snugly into, and sprinkle the garlic and basil all over the bottom of it. Stand the tomatoes next to each other in the tray, on top of the garlic and basil, then push the bay leaves well into the scores in the tomatoes and season well with sea salt and black pepper. Lay the leeks on a board and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Using a rolling pin, press down on top of the leeks to really squeeze the seasoning into them. This will also loosen their texture. Weave the leeks in and around the tomatoes. Pour over the balsamic vinegar, drizzle over 2 tablespoons of oil, and roast for 1 hour. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

Try this: These tomatoes are great served as a vegetable dish, or as part of a warm salad. Also good as a base for soup, puréed to make a sauce or served over pasta.

roasted chicken stuffed with fragrant couscous & cooked on a sweet potato stovie

I made this when the mother-in-law came round for dinner. I wasn’t too sure about it beforehand, but it worked really well. I bought an organic chicken and treated the couscous like a stuffing. I’d managed to get hold of some really interesting dried fruit, so I used just a small handful of each, but what an amazing result! The stovie is mushy and moreish, rather like a Moroccan bubble and squeak.

SERVES 4

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5. Put the couscous, dried fruits, nuts and most of the fresh herbs into a bowl. Finely grate in the orange and lemon zest and squeeze in all of the juice, reserving one of the lemon halves. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and a wineglass of warm water and mix everything together. Coarsely grate the potatoes and sweet potatoes into a bowl. In a pestle and mortar, pound up all the spices with a teaspoon of sea salt until you have a fine powder.

Stuff the chicken with all the flavoured couscous. Really push it in, and if there’s any left over you can mix it with the grated potatoes. Block the cavity with the reserved lemon half — this will keep the couscous inside the chicken. Rub the chicken with a little oil and half the spice mix, adding the rest to the potatoes. Rub 2 tablespoons of oil into a casserole pan, then add the potato mixture and press down. Put the chicken on top and roast in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes, turning the heat down to 170ºC/325ºF/gas 3 after 30 minutes.

Once cooked, discard the lemon half and check that the couscous is thoroughly hot. Leave the chicken to rest for 5 minutes, then put it on a carving board. Remove some of the excess fat from the potatoes with a little kitchen paper — just lay it over the top to let it soak up. To serve, carve the meat and divide between plates, giving each a nice spoonful of the potato stovie, then scrape out the fantastically flavoured couscous. Sprinkle the reserved mint and parsley over the top, and serve with some crème fraîche or soured cream.

unbelievable roast pork with stuffed apples & parsnips

As usual I was mucking about, trying to reinvent the apple sauce and roast pork story. I roasted everything together, and the flavours were absolutely amazing. What a brilliant way to eat apples with pork rather than having boring old apple sauce.

SERVES 6

Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7. Season the pork skin well with sea salt and black pepper and place on a tray in the oven to start crackling — this will take around 15 to 20 minutes. Remove when golden and crisp. Meanwhile parboil the parsnips and red onions in boiling salted water for 5 minutes, then drain.

In a pestle and mortar bash the sage, allspice, a good grating of nutmeg, the garlic and finely grated orange zest with a good pinch of salt and pepper until you have a fine powder. Put the mixture into a bowl with the butter, then mix well. Run a knife around the middle of each apple — this will stop them bursting as they cook. Remove the core with a peeler without piercing right through the apple (see picture here) and discard. Pack the flavoured butter into the cavity of each apple — any excess butter can be spread all over the pork. Place the apples in the tray with the parsnips and red onions. Put the pork on top and place in the oven for 1 hour. After 30 minutes, take the tray out of the oven, remove the pork to a plate, and carefully toss the onion and parsnips in all the lovely cooking juices, trying not to disrupt the apples. Put the pork back on top, reduce the temperature to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4 and roast for a further 30 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. Remove the pork from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Turn the oven off, but keep the veggies and crackling warm until needed.

Carve the pork and serve with the veggies and the apples.

Try this: Steam some nice greens, toss them in the buttery juices from the roasting tray and serve alongside the pork

roast duck with bubble & squeak & stir-fried greens

You may think that duck is fatty … and, yes, sometimes it can be. But this method of cooking actually cooks out a fair bit of the fat (which can be kept for making the best roast spuds another day).

SERVES 4,
WITH LEFTOVERS
SAUCE

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.

Bash the thyme with 1 tablespoon of sea salt in a pestle and mortar. Rub this all over the duck, inside and out, then tie it up (see page 228). Place in a roasting pan, prick the skin to allow the fat to come out and roast for about 2 hours, or until crispy and cooked through, draining the fat off 2 or 3 times so you are left with just meat juices.

Meanwhile, cook the swede in a large pan of boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Add the carrot and potatoes and cook until they’re all tender, then drain. Allow to steam dry before mashing together.

Drizzle a little oil into a pan, add the onion, garlic and thyme and fry for 3 minutes, or until softened. Pour in the brandy — if you’re using a gas hob you can carefully flame it until the alcohol has cooked off. Add the tomatoes and cook for 20 minutes, or until you have a thick sauce. Finally, add the vinegar and season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.

Check to see if the duck is ready by pinching the thigh meat — it should feel tender and the skin should be crisp. If it’s cooked, remove it to a plate and leave to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes. Remove any excess fat from the pan, add a little water, then scrape up the sticky goodness and pour into the sauce. While the sauce is simmering, heat the butter in a non-stick pan and fry the Brussels sprouts for 3 minutes. Add the mashed veg, pat together, season to taste and fry, stirring every minute, until golden brown. To serve, divide the bubble and squeak between plates, then carve the duck, giving everybody a bit of leg and breast. Spoon over the sauce. Lovely!

TYING UP A BIRD

The principle of tying or trussing up birds is to keep them nice and secure.

pot-roasted guinea fowl with fennel, potatoes & blood orange

In this recipe you could use chicken or pheasant instead of guinea fowl. If you can’t get hold of any blood oranges then normal ones will do, or use mandarins.

SERVES 4

Cut the guinea fowl legs away from the breast meat — they take different times to cook, and you want to get it spot on (see the pictures here). To make the marinade, bash the fennel seeds, half the rosemary, half the thyme and the garlic in a pestle and mortar. Mix in the gin, finely grate in the orange zest and squeeze in the juice, then add 5 tablespoons of oil. Season with black pepper only.

Now get yourself a large plastic bag, push the guinea fowl legs and breasts down into one corner, then add the marinade. Squeeze out all the air and tie a knot in the bag. Put it in a bowl or on a large plate and keep it in the fridge for a day, turning occasionally.

When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/ gas 8. Parboil the potatoes in boiling salted water for 5 minutes, then add the fennel and continue to boil for 5 minutes, then drain. Remove the guinea fowl from the fridge, drain away the marinade, and place the meat on a board. Use a piece of kitchen paper to blot off any excess moisture. Put the legs into a big roasting tray and roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Take the tray out of the oven — you should have a nice bit of fat in the bottom. Remove the legs, put the potatoes, fennel and the rest of the garlic, thyme and rosemary into the tray and give it a really good shake. Put the legs back in the tray, along with the breast meat, which should be skin side up. Place in the oven for 30 minutes, or until both the skin of the breast meat and the potatoes are golden. Squash the olives and remove the stones. Remove the tray from the oven, sprinkle with the olives and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

To serve, cut the guinea fowl into chunks. Divide a bit of everything between your plates and sprinkle with the herby fennel tops.

marinated & pot-roasted beef fillet with a brilliant potato & horseradish cake

SERVES 6

Generously season the beef fillet with sea salt and black pepper. In a pestle and mortar bash a quarter of the rosemary with 1 peeled clove of garlic to make a paste. Loosen with 5 tablespoons of oil and rub all over the beef. Tie the beef up with 4 pieces of string, then poke the remaining rosemary sprigs under the string.

Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/gas 8. Parboil the sliced potatoes in boiling salted water for 5 minutes, then drain and transfer to a bowl with just enough oil to coat. Season well. I like to make the potato cake in a round greased or non-stick cake tin, but you can use a non-stick frying pan with a metal handle, or you can even make small individual ones. Place half the potatoes in the tin or pan, spreading the creamed horseradish over the top. Place the rest of the potatoes on top, then pat down.

Brown the beef in a roasting tray until all sides are coloured. Add the unpeeled garlic cloves to the tray, place the beef on top and put in the oven, with the potatoes on the shelf below. Cook for 20 minutes, then turn the beef over, baste it and add the red wine and butter. Remove the potato dish, then carefully place a clean tea towel over it and push down to compact the spuds into a nice tight cake. Place back in the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes.

I serve the beef cooked medium, but cook it more or less to your preference. Remove the beef from the oven and while it is resting continue browning the potato cake for 5 minutes. To serve, remove the string and the rosemary from the beef and carve it into slices.

Turn the potato cake out on to a board, or scoop it out with a spoon and divide between serving plates beside the meat. Pour any resting juices into the tray, where the red wine and butter and all the goodness from the meat will have made a very simple but tasty sauce. Finish by mushing up the garlic cloves, then pass the sauce through a sieve on to the meat. Lovely served with some dressed watercress.

Try this: You could do the same recipe with a pork loin or venison.

pot-roasted shoulder of lamb with roasted butternut squash & sweet red onions

This is inspired by my having a shoulder of lamb, butternut squash and some red onions all waiting to be used! No quaint story to tell but it did taste bloomin’ lovely.

SERVES 6

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5.

Lay out the shoulder of lamb. Pound up the coriander seeds with the rosemary and a pinch of sea salt in a pestle and mortar until fine. Rub half over the inside of the lamb. Season well with salt and black pepper, then roll up the lamb and secure with 4 or 5 pieces of string. Don’t worry about doing it neatly, as long as it holds together it’s fine.

Put a high-sided roasting tray on the hob and brown the lamb on all sides in a little oil. Remove from the heat, allow the lamb to cool a little, then add the red onions to the tray. Lift up the lamb, stir the onions around to cover them in all the flavoursome juices, then sit the lamb back on top and cook in the oven for 2 hours, or until crisp on the outside and tender inside, adding the cranberry juice after the first 30 minutes and turning the heat down to 170ºC/325ºF/gas 3. Turn the meat when you can. You’ll also want enough juice left in the bottom of the tray to give everyone a nice spoonful — if it looks as if the liquid is going to cook away too quickly, add a little water and place a cartouche on top (see page 174). Skim off and discard any fat that cooks out of the meat.

While the lamb is cooking, rub the squash with the rest of the spice mix and a drizzle of oil. Lay it in another roasting tray, season well and put it in the oven when the lamb’s been cooking for just over an hour. Cook for 45 minutes, or until tender.

When the lamb’s cooked, let it rest for 10 minutes, then remove the string. Toss the coriander leaves, spring onions, lemon juice, 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and seasoning in a bowl. To serve, divide the squash between plates, cut the lamb into irregular sized slices, spoon over some tray juices, and sprinkle over the salad. A dollop of yoghurt on top is lovely.

pork loin with a great herby stuffing

This recipe for pork is great. You can serve it as a conventional roast, or let it cool and either serve it as part of a buffet, or in sandwiches as they do in Italy. On my first trip there we stopped at a caravan by the side of the road where we had lovely big porchetta (pork sandwiches) filled with salad leaves, mustard and some very bready salsa verde.

If you’re feeling adventurous, try out this recipe using a whole suckling pig. It’s one of the most special things you can cook — great for weddings and parties. Good butchers will normally be able to get hold of a suckling pig if you order in advance. If you do decide to use a suckling pig, then double the stuffing recipe, stuff the cavity, secure it and allow it a couple of extra hours to cook. It will be ready when the leg and shoulder meat falls off the bone.

SERVES 8

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.

Place the pork loin in front of you and score across the skin with a sharp knife, or a Stanley knife, about 1cm deep and about 1cm apart. Pound up the rosemary and fennel seeds with a tablespoon of sea salt — bash the mixture up until really fine and then rub it into all the score marks on the pork. Remove the crusts from the bread and slice it up. I like to toast the bread in a toaster or on a griddle until lightly golden, as this gives the stuffing a really fantastic smoky flavour. While the bread is toasting, slowly fry the onions, garlic, sage and pine nuts in 1 tablespoon of oil for 10 minutes, or until the onions are soft. Season with salt and black pepper, add the balsamic vinegar and put the mixture in a bowl. Rip the bread into pieces and add to the bowl. Squash everything together, really squeezing the onions into the bread. Have a taste — it may need a little more seasoning. Leave to cool.

Insert a knife into the eye meat of the pork loin and make a cavity for the stuffing (see the pictures here). Pack in the stuffing, then roll the pork over and tie it with a few pieces of string. Place in a roasting tray and cook for just over 1 hour, or until golden and crisp.

party tips

* roast a pig

* hire an elvis impersonator

* make cocktails

* put on your dancing shoes

CO2

This is a cocktail that I invented with Giancarlo d’Urso, the barman from Hakkasan in London.

SERVES 1

Drop the lemongrass, chilli slices, coriander and some black pepper into a cocktail shaker. Bash them up a bit, using a pestle to get all the lovely flavours out. Add the tequila and ice. Squeeze in the lime juice and add the pineapple juice. Shake, strain and pour into a chilled Martini glass, then serve.