Autumn is approaching. Weirdly it means that the weather is picking up slightly for a week or two, though the nights stretch out longer and earlier, a blessing to those who work in restaurants with al fresco dining.
I'm quite relaxed in the current job, as a member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association I reckon we're hardly even started of the politics of the food industry but it's it's nice to know someone's about to write the memo. Especially when you get asked about all the fish on the menu. Anyway, enough about work, it springs to mind because at the start of august the kitchen produced a rather attractive version salade paysanne. Rather than roast quail and foie gras it was served with confit of duck leg and chicken liver pate. After all this is a brasserie. It sprung to mind last time I was in Source: I had two rich and flavour-laden duck breasts ready to take to the till. I was so sure I would poach the meat, crisp up the skin and make a chinese-ish dish. Then the lovely Joe Wheatcroft (that is his epithet in this blog) tapped me on the shoulder by the fresh veg and with a winning smile said the magic words: "We have fresh ceps." That man really knows his customers. He's well aware of my obsession with all things seasonal and these were so fresh they woke up the previous morning still in the Quantocks.
Gosh they're pretty. Having never tried them before I was loath to overpower them with spices and soy sauce, possibly missing this new flavour. I had pancetta at home and a faint memory of this rather rich salad from work so back to Bedminster I trotted ready for peasant food.
I know it's a bit gastropub but I still love peasant food. Just the basic concept calms me. You buy one or two central flavours and proceed to cook them without mucking about too much. You add one or two complementing flavours, something to bulk it out and serve it on a driftwood board. Okay, in my case a cheap, wooden chopping board but you get my point. This salad bears little relemblance to the traditional, as I had duck breasts, pancetta and the gorgeous ceps but it made a very pleasant start to autumnal cooking:
serves 2, or 4 as a starter with more leaf
2 duck breasts
clove garlic, rosemary sprig
large knob of cold, unsalted butter
200g bag of rocket, or a strong flavoured leaf. Watercress would work nicely
large handul of walnut halves, roughly chopped
2-3 rashers of thin cut, smoked pancetta, finely sliced
2 thick slices of stale bread, cut into centimetre cubes
3 or 4 ceps, washed and sliced
preheat the oven to about 200 degrees/180 fan/gas mark 6. While the oven heats up, pop the bread in for about 10 minutes to dry out with a pinch of salt. Of course, if you'd rather buy croutons I won't tell.
With a small, sharp knife score the fat of the duck breasts. Take care not to hit the meat or it won't cook evenly. season lightly with salt and pepper.
Heat up a frying pan or skillet till really rather hot. Add the butter and some oil to stop the former from burning, then a garlic clove, flattened with the heel of your hand or a knife and the rosemary. When all is frothing place the duck breasts in fat side down. Cook for 7-8 minutes until the fat is browned and crisp on top. Turn over and continue to cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
If, like me, you like your duck rare that's as far as you need to go, but The Blonde prefers medium so I left mine to rest on a covered plate and popped hers in the oven while I made the salad bit.
I fried the croutons in the remaining duck fat from the pan, but you can use oil if that makes your arteries clench up. When golden remove from the pan and pop them on some kitchen towel. Season lightly.
Drain off the remaining fat and wipe the pan, then return to the heat. Toast the walnuts, reomove then fry the little strips of pancetta till golden and crispy. Remove to the kitchen towel, deglaze the pan with a little white wine, add a little more butter and the sliced ceps. Add some finely chopped parsley if you like (I like).
Take the duck out of the oven and let it sit for a minute. Toss the rocket, nuts, bacon and croutons and split between deep plates (or in my case shallow bowls). Scatter over the ceps.
Slice the duck breasts fairly thinly and serve on top of the salad, drizzling over any juices.
Sit down with the person you're cooking for, have a glass of wine and proudly point out how little washing up you've left them.
