Duck Confit with Lentils and Red Wine Sauce

Ingredients

• 4 duck legs
• 30 g coarse salt
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• 800 g duck fat (or rapeseed oil)
• Lentils:
• 300 g Puy lentils
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove
• 500 ml chicken or veal stock
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Red wine sauce:
• 200 ml red wine
• 200 ml veal stock
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 1 tbsp butter

Method

1. 1Rub the duck legs with salt, garlic, thyme and bay leaves. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, preferably overnight.
2. 2Preheat the oven to 140 °C. Rinse the salt from the duck legs and pat dry. Place in an ovenproof dish and cover with duck fat. Cook in the oven for 3 hours until the meat almost falls from the bone.
3. 3Lentils: Cook the lentils in stock with carrot, shallot and garlic for about 25 minutes until tender but still with a slight bite. Drain any excess liquid. Season with vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir through the parsley.
4. 4Red wine sauce: Sauté the shallot, pour in the wine and reduce by half. Add the veal stock and reduce again until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Finish with butter.
5. 5Before serving: Crisp the duck legs skin-side down in a hot pan for 3–4 minutes. Serve on the lentils with the red wine sauce spooned around.