Recipe: Duck Confit and Spinach

This recipe for duck confit and spinach will impress your friends! Confit is a French word that means “preserved”, and it refers to the process of slow cooking and storing food in fat. With the confit method, meats are cooked in fat for a long time at a low temperature. This softens tough cuts like duck legs, making it more tender. Any meat that is cooked through this method is also called confit, like duck confit.

A French dish, Duck confit is a favourite in France, and is a vital ingredient in the classic cassoulet. Because of its tenderness, duck confit can be shredded and served with salad, stews or bread. As it is not a very common dish in Malaysia, you can have a taste by trying to cook your own with our recipe for duck confit and spinach.

Ingredients (6 servings):

• 6 duck legs
• 6  fresh thyme sprigs
• 6 star anise
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced
• 4 tbsp sea salt
• 1L duck fat
• sunflower oil, for deep-frying
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 300g spinach leaves, tough talks removed
• 100ml rapeseed oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 225ml beef stock
• 4 tbsp marmalade
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tbsp cointreau liqueur
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation Method:

DUCK CONFIT

1. Place duck legs in a single layer in a shallow dish and scatter over the thyme, star anise, cinnamon, garlic and salt. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 120°C. Rinse marinade off duck legs and pat dry with kitchen paper. Return duck legs to dish.
3. Heat duck fat gently in a pan, then pour it over the duck legs to cover them completely. Place in the oven and cook for about 4 hours. Remove from the heat and leave to cool in the fat.
4. When ready to serve, preheat grill to low. Remove duck confit from the dish and brush off any excess fat. Arrange duck legs on a grill rack skin side up. Season with salt and cook for 10–15 minutes until skin is crisp and golden.

SPINACH

1. Blanch the spinach in a pan of boiling salted water for 30 seconds, then refresh quickly under cold running water. Drain well and pat dry with kitchen paper. Place in a Thermomix or blender for 5–7 minutes, adding the oil in a slow, continuous stream until the purée comes together. Season to taste and use as required.
2. Add the stock, marmalade, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, Cointreau and thyme in a small pan.
3. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer vigorously for 5 minutes. Season to taste, then pass through a sieve into a clean pan, discarding the thyme.
4. Reheat gently and use as required.

There you have it, home cooked duck confit in spinach that you can share with your loved ones! If you liked this recipe, then check out our other recipes like Peking Duck, Sour Plum Duck and our foolproof Crispy Duck a try!  

If you find it a hassle to prepare this dish at home, you can always order well-prepped meals from foodpanda and have them delivered straight to your doorstep.