DUCK CONFIT

Reheating time: 7-12 minutes

I remember the first time we did duck confit for WECO. It started as so many of our menu items do, with someone presenting a vague idea or concept, and then our whole group running with it and elaborating on the theme to piece together the bigger picture. The duck confit conversation was far less in depth, but definitely hilarious. Rachel is a visionary- I mean she has the best ideas. There would be no WECO without Rachel. But I gotta hand it to her- she knows how to make everyone laugh. The chefs and I were sitting around our little socially distanced area, talking about cool techniques and past dishes from the before times, when Rachel chimed in with “can we… confit… something?” and duck confit was immediately agreed upon as the best thing that we could confit. So you have Rachel to thank for this. Actually, you have Rachel to thank for everything. It’s a team effort, but there is no team without a strong leader. Decadent duck, root veggie mash, roasty asparagus, and a fresh salad of chicories for dessert. Hope you’re hungry! Get in there. 

For the duck:

Two ways to go about this. You can either crisp up the skin in the broiler, which is the faster way- but yields less consistently golden and crispy skin, or you can render the skin in a pan. To broil, simply just lay out the duck legs on a sheet tray lined with foil, and pop them under the broiler on low for 5-7 minutes. To crisp them up in a pan, start with a good cast iron or nonstick and heat over medium low heat. Add a generous amount of olive oil or butter, and lay the duck legs skin side down in the pan. This definitely takes longer, but yields a way better end result. You basically want to fry and render out the skin until it is perfectly golden brown and crispy. Once the skin is ready, flip the duck legs over to warm the flesh side, and then you’re good to go. All the rendered duck fat can be saved (makes some delicious scrambled eggs… just saying), or you can use it to heat the root veggie mash. Either way, you win. 

For the root veggie mash:

As I said, my method of choice would be to heat the mash using the rendered duck fat from the legs. You can even go right in the same pan. Over medium heat, fold the mash into the warm duck fat and stir till it begins to steam and bubble slightly. Alternatively, you can microwave it. I guess. I mean I don’t like the microwave, but it works well for things like this. Just get it nice and hot!

For the asparagus:

This is the dinner of choices! Either broil the asparagus with the duck legs in the oven, broil the asparagus WITHOUT the duck legs in the oven, or fry the asparagus up in a nonstick pan. Maybe with some duck fat. Basically we want to melt down the solidified caper and lemon butter and get just a bit of color on the asparagus.

For the salad:

Don’t heat this one up! Just toss it in a bowl, dress with the blood orange vinaigrette, and enjoy 🙂 dinner is served, and solved. #weareweco

ROASTED MUSHROOM + PARMESAN SOUP

Thanks for ordering!

This is by far one of the most nostalgic things I have ever made. If that made any sense. I think you know what I’m talking about. Whenever we make this soup (I guess it’s only the second time- some fo you may remember it from our holiday feast this year), I am reminded of exactly where and when I was when I first tried/made it. It’s amazing how something so simple as soup can be such a time travelling machine. It was probably six years ago (jeez, feels like a lifetime…), and I was 19 or 20- completely overwhelmed, working as the pasta cook at The Dutch, Andrew Carmellini’s SoHo hotspot. What an amazing spot. I was obsessed with this soup- I loved mushrooms, I loved truffles, I love miso, I loved sherry, I especially loved parmesan, and who doesn’t love good bread. Talk about taking all your favorite things from a certain flavor profile and jamming them all into one super concentrated, luxuriously thick and viscous soup. Still gives me anxiety thinking about those times as a young and terrified line cook, just trying to make everyone happy. I definitely still feel that- but at least now I know how to make this soup. Cause that can definitely make everyone happy. To reheat, warm the soup in a small saucepot over medium low heat, stirring well to prevent scorching. It may need to be thinned out a bit depending on your personal preference, so feel free to add some milk/stock/water to bring it to your desired consistency. Just reseason if you add a lot of liquid. Toast up the bread, and get slurping!