Duck breasts, legs, whole baked poultry - all these dishes can become a table decoration if you choose the right side dish for them. Duck meat is tender, aromatic, soft and satisfying, but very fatty, in order to balance it, you should choose vegetables or boiled cereals, complementing them with sour and sweet notes.
Red cabbage side dishes
Red cabbage goes well with duck. It makes a simple yet interesting side dish with a perfect sweet and sour taste.
You will need:
- 400-500 g of red cabbage;
- 4 heads of shallots;
- 2 tbsp. spoons of duck fat;
- 5 juniper berries;
- 2 tbsp. spoons of red wine vinegar;
- 1 orange;
- 25 large soft raisins;
- 1 tbsp. spoon of currant jelly.
Choose the best head of cabbage, choosing the heavier ones with bright, glossy leaves. Peel off the outer layer of leaves, wash the head and cut it into quarters, cut out the hard stalk and chop the cabbage. Peel and cut the shallots into half rings. Put goose fat in a saucepan with a heavy bottom, fry the onion in it until transparent. Crush the juniper and place it along with the cabbage in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the cabbage is soft, add the vinegar to help the vegetable retain its beautiful wine color. Squeeze orange juice into a dish, add raisins and red currant jelly, stir and simmer for about 15 minutes.
A delicious side dish of kale and prunes is also considered a classic addition to duck. Try this step-by-step French recipe.
You will need:
- 500-700 g of red cabbage;
- 1 head of red onion;
- 1 cinnamon stick;
- ½ teaspoon of ground cloves;
- 8 prunes;
- 125 ml sherry vinegar;
- 1 tbsp. a spoonful of brown sugar;
- butter or goose fat;
- salt.
Chop the onion and cabbage. Soak prunes in boiling water, wait until it becomes soft, squeeze out excess liquid. Melt butter or goose fat in a saucepan. Fry the onions until soft, add prunes, cinnamon and cloves, stir. After 2-3 minutes, put the cabbage in a saucepan, season it with vinegar, salt and sugar. Reduce the temperature to the minimum, cover the dish and simmer for about an hour. Remove the cinnamon from the cabbage and serve warm.
An original homemade garnish with apples, walnuts and caraway seeds is also prepared from red cabbage for duck. Its taste is less sweet, but more piquant.
You will need:
- 400-500 g of red cabbage;
- 1 red apple
- 50 g butter;
- 2 teaspoons of brown sugar;
- 1 clove of garlic;
- 250 ml apple cider;
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds;
- ¼ Art. chopped onions.
Cut the apple into halves and remove the core, cut the halves into slices. In a small skillet, melt half the butter, add the apple slices, sprinkle with sugar and fry, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. When the sugar and butter have turned to caramel, remove the skillet from the stove, transfer the apples to a plate and cover with foil.
In a large, wide saucepan, melt the remaining butter and sauté the onions and garlic. Add the cabbage, stir, wait for it to wither slightly from the heat and pour in the cider. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Fry the walnuts in a dry skillet and place them along with the cumin seeds in the cabbage, season with pepper and salt, stir and remove from heat. Serve with the duck and caramelized apples on top of the cabbage.
Duck side dishes made from puréed vegetables
Light, fluffy vegetable puree is well suited as a side dish for duck, if its taste is varied with various additives. Puree can be made from potatoes, parsnip root, carrots, pumpkin, seasoned with nutmeg, fresh herbs, diversify the taste with olives, truffles or sun-dried tomatoes. The most popular side dish for duck meat is mashed potatoes with caramelized onions.
You will need:
- 1 kg of onions;
- 2 kg of friable potatoes;
- 5 tbsp. tablespoons of unsalted butter;
- 3 tbsp. tablespoons of olive oil;
- ½ teaspoon of granulated sugar;
- 3 and ½ teaspoons of finely ground salt;
- ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper;
- 1 tbsp. milk with a fat content of 3.5%.
Peel the onion and cut into a medium dice. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, add olive oil to it and stir. Add the onion and stir again, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Watch the onion, stir it occasionally. Remove the lid, sprinkle with sugar and sauté again, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden brown. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ground pepper. Remove from heat and refrigerate.
Wash and peel the potatoes well. Cut into large cubes, place in a saucepan. Fill with cold water so that its level is 2-3 cm higher than the potatoes. Add 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for about 12 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Drain and place the potatoes in a saucepan over the fire for another minute to completely remove the remaining liquid and steam the tubers at the same time. Heat milk over medium heat, melt butter in it. Pass the potatoes through a special press or puree with a crouton. Stir in the butter and milk little by little. When the puree is smooth, add the onion to it.
Groats for garnish with duck
In Russian cuisine, one of the popular side dishes for duck is crumbly buckwheat porridge. You can add flavor to it with caramelized onions and fried mushrooms. The original side dish will be made from pearl barley. In Europe, a side dish of both rice and corn grits is prepared for duck. There are recipes for risotto with duck, polenta. In America, duck meat and wild rice are considered a good combination. Wild rice or Indian rice is not at all a relative of ordinary rice, but this does not prevent dishes from it from having indisputable advantages, including low calorie content and rich in amino acids.
You will need:
- 1 1/2 cups wild rice
- 2 cups hot water
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 15 g dried mushrooms;
- 3 tbsp. spoons of duck fat;
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley;
- salt and pepper.
Soak dried mushrooms in boiling water and leave for 20 minutes. Drain the water through a sieve and squeeze the mushrooms, save the liquid. Melt the duck fat in a deep frying pan, fry the onion until transparent, add mushrooms and wild rice, stir and fry. Cook for 1-2 minutes, add dried cranberries, then pour in the broth and water drained from the mushrooms. The trick to making wild rice is that it requires a lot more water than regular rice - a ratio of one to three. Season with salt and cook for at least 30 minutes. Add walnuts and parsley, sauteed in a dry skillet, stir and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Baked vegetable side dishes
Oven-baked vegetables are one of the most popular side dishes for duck. Potatoes and carrots, turnips and parsnips, Brussels sprouts, zucchini, shallots, pumpkin and even beets mixed in any proportions and seasoned with garlic, parsley, rosemary, oregano are suitable. It is important not to forget to put sweetish vegetables with starchy vegetables, or you should make a sweet and sour gravy. Try this combination:
- 400 g of peeled beets;
- 800 g of peeled carrots;
- 800 g of peeled potatoes;
- 400 g of peeled celery root;
- 6 tbsp. spoons of duck fat;
- 2-3 branches of fresh rosemary;
- sea salt;
- ground black pepper.
Cut the potatoes and beets into large equal pieces, cut the carrots and celery lengthwise. Boil all vegetables in one saucepan, except for beets. Boil the beets separately. Drain through a colander and place on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Melt the duck fat and pour over the vegetables. Pinch off the leaves from the rosemary sprigs. Sprinkle the vegetables with rosemary, pepper and salt. Bake in an oven preheated to 220 ° C for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
