Sundried Tomato & Duck Leg Risotto, Poached Duck Egg, Truffle

This week’s recipe is by Glenn Roach, Executive Chef of the Surf & Turf Restaurants in Macdonald Hotels & Resorts. Chef Roach introduced the Surf & Turf concept to Macdonald Rusacks Hotel, St Andrews and Macdonald Holyrood Hotel in Edinburgh. The concept will be introduced to Macdonald Marine Hotel, North Berwick.

Risotto Base

Ingredients:

• 1.1 litres organic stock, such as chicken, fish, vegetable

• 1 large onion

• 2 cloves of garlic

• ½ a head of celery

• 90 g Parmesan cheese

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• unsalted butter

• 400 g risotto rice

• 2 wine glasses of dry white vermouth

• 50g sundried tomato

Method:

• Heat the stock. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic, trim and finely chop the celery. Finely grate the Parmesan.

• In a separate pan, heat the oil and 1 small knob of butter over a low heat, add the onions, garlic and celery, and fry gently for about 15 minutes, or until softened but not coloured.

• Add the rice and turn up the heat – the rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it. After 1 minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the vermouth or wine and keep stirring — it will smell fantastic. Any harsh alcohol flavours will evaporate and leave the rice with a tasty essence.

• Once the vermouth or wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of sea salt. Turn the heat down to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside.

• Keep adding ladleful's of stock, stirring and almost massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes. Taste the rice — is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Don’t forget to check the seasoning carefully. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water.

• Remove the pan from the heat, add 1 knob of butter, sundried tomatos and the Parmesan, then stir well.

• Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes – this is the most important part of making the perfect risotto, as this is when it becomes outrageously creamy and oozy like it should be. Eat it as soon as possible, while the risotto retains its beautiful texture.

Confit Duck Leg

Ingredients:

• 25g of sea salt

• 2 sprigs of thyme, picked

• 4 duck legs, 200g each

• 1l duck fat, melted (or vegetable oil)

•

Method:

Mix together the salt and thyme leaves and rub into the duck legs. Salt-curing the meat acts as a preservative. Cover and leave to cure for 6 hours in the fridge

Preheat the oven to 120˚C

Rinse the cure from the duck and dry the legs thoroughly

Place the legs in an oven proof dish deep enough to contain the meat and cover with the rendered fat

Cover the dish with foil and place in the oven to cook for 3 hours or until the meat comes easily away from the bone

Leave to cool in the fat

Remove the legs from the fat and pat dry with kitchen roll before pan-frying to crisp up the skin or pulling the meat from the bone in delicious slivers to be used in fillings

Poached Duck Egg

• 2 Duck eggs

Half-fill a wide pan with boiling salted water and bring it to a light simmer over a medium heat.

Crack one of the eggs into a cup and gently pour it into the water in one fluid movement. Repeat with the rest of the eggs. You’ll see them begin to cook immediately – don’t worry if the edges look a little scruffy. Depending on the pan, a really soft poached egg should take around 2 minutes and a soft to firm one will need 4 minutes (it depends on the size of the eggs and whether you’re using them straight from the fridge).

Truffle Shavings

• 1 x Black truffle

On A mandolin slice the truffle as thin as possible (Always use the guard on the mandolin)

Dish Assembly

Once risotto is ready flake your duck leg through the risotto

In a bowl add your risotto in to the bowl then place your soft poached duck egg on top,

Pace shavings on top of the egg and add some wild herbs for garnish