LATE SUMMER // Recipe for four
Aged duck ham, bunya nut cream and saltbush
I think cured meats are fantastic: they have such a different personality to cooked or even raw meats. The best duck to use here is a variety that has a high fat content. We use a cross between American Pekin and Aylesbury. You need to allow yourself at least three weeks for curing and ageing the duck here – like all worthwhile projects, this is a process that cannot be rushed or tampered with. The bunya nuts we use to make the cream are usually harvested in mid to late summer, when the whole cone has fallen from the bunya pine.
DUCK HAM
2 fatty duck breasts, with skin
10 g (¼ oz) young, green pine needles, fresh from the tree
300 g (10½ oz) salt
200 g (7 oz) cane sugar
2 star anise
10 g (¼ oz) black pepper
2 thyme sprigs
Clean the duck breasts and pine needles and place in a deep tray. Put the salt, sugar, star anise, black pepper and thyme sprigs in a food processor and blend until aromatic and fine. Rub this salt cure into the duck breasts and place any excess cure on top. Cover and leave in the fridge for 9 days.
Wipe the cure off the duck breasts with a damp cloth. Pat dry with a dry cloth and place on a flat metal tray. Take a blowtorch and scald the duck skin until it is black. Allow to cool, then wrap each breast twice in muslin (cheesecloth). Tie with butcher’s twine and hang in a cool place at around 6–10°C (43–50°F) for 2 weeks. Slice paper thin when you’re ready to eat.
BUNYA NUT CREAM
1 tablespoon grape seed oil
250 g (9 oz) raw bunya nuts
1 white onion
2 garlic cloves
400 ml (14 fl oz) full-fat cow’s milk
1 teaspoon salt
Heat the oil in a pan. Add the bunya nuts, onion and garlic and sauté until soft. Add the milk and salt, cover the pan and steep for 30 minutes off the heat. Pour into a blender and purée until smooth. Pass through a fine mesh sieve and chill until cold.
SALTBUSH
40 large saltbush leaves
Layer about 4–5 leaves together, roll up tightly and thinly slice, to chiffonade as thinly as possible.
