xo amys

‘Easter inspo with an easy duck Roast’

The seagulls have migrated back to the city and easter is soon here, it means Spring is just around the corner. It’s so amazingly light here from morning to evening even though we still have snow, but it seems like Spring is slowly but surely on it’s way.

As easter is this week, I wanted to share this wild duck recipe that we cooked at the summer place the last time we were there. Even though lamb is more traditional easter, any roast works perfectly! At the countryside, we love to cook rustic cozy dishes that are comforting and hearty in style. This stew was cooked in a traditional stone oven that heats with fire giving the ducks that amazing robust smokey flavour, but a normal oven will do as well! The duck meat literally falls off the bone and the vegetable broth keeps it moist while it cooks in the oven for 4 to 5 hours. Because we cooked with the stone oven, we actually left it to cook overnight and in the morning the ducks were marvelous! For dessert, not try a coconut kinder tart with a sprinkle of matcha powder on top!

Wild Duck Roast

Ingredients

• 2 whole wild ducks (small in size)
• 1 large onion
• 1 entire garlic
• 1 carrot
• 1 leak
• 1 parsnip
• 2-3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup red wine
• salt/pepper/ bay leaves/rosemary

Directions

Roughly chop and peel and vegetable that will be used as a base for this stew. In a large pan, add a dollop of butter, rosemary and oil. Seer both sides of the duck for about 3 minutes and leave to rest on the side. In the same pan (may need to add a little more butter), quickly sauté the roughly chopped vegetables for about 5 minutes. Add in a bit of vegetable stock to soak up all the juices from the pan. Place the vegetables on the bottom of the oven dish with the ducks on top. Add the vegetable stock and wine, salt, pepper, bay leaves. Place lid on.

We placed the ducks into a firewood stone oven that gives the ducks an extra amazing flavour and left it in there over night and the following morning as we opened the lid, the ducks were crispy and still warm.  However, you can just as easily use a normal oven. If you do so, preheat to 200 celsius degrees. Drop the temperature after 30 minutes to 150 celsius and let them cook for about 4-5 hours with the lid on.

Serve ducks whole, with a sprinkle of sat and pepper on top along with fresh parsley. The meat should literally fall of the bone.

Coconut kinder egg tart

• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking power
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon softened butter
• 1- 1 1/2 cups coconut cream or milk
• 1 kinder egg
• 3 pieces of dark chocolate

Directions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Sift together flour, salt, baking powder. In another bowl, mix the butter and sugar. Add egg, coconut milk and vanilla. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients. Transfer the batter into a butter-lined cake tin and press the kinder egg and chocolate pieces into the middle of the batter. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until toothpick can be inserted and removed clean. Once the cake has cooled, sift matcha powder on top and garnish with toffee chocolate eggs.