Duck!

In 2008 we visited Arles, France and had dinner at La Caravelle. I ordered le canard, and it was fantastic. It was duck with some sort of tomato based sauce, and green olvies, served over wide ribbon noodles. I found this recipe for Duck Legs in Green Olive Sauce with Cracklings and Pappardelle, which is close to what I remember.


We found duck legs in the freezer section of Whole Foods, but we were hoping for fresh. I think we need to find an actual butcher here in Seattle.

So we made cracklins out of the duck skin and boy is there a lot of fat in those things! I have a little jar of in my fridge because it's supposed to be great for frying potatoes. How French am I? Pretty darn tootin' French, that's for sure.

The cracked green olives were fantastic. They must have crack in them. And we were delighted to try a new ingredient--green peppercorns in brine. They added a very nice flavor to the sauce. The tomato sauce balances nicely with the briney/salty flavors and the bright orange zest and cointreau. The cracklins, breadcrumbs and parsley on top were brilliant additions of texture, flavor, and color. This is a wonderful special-occasion dish, but I can easily see making a version of it with chicken for a faster, simpler meal.


We also tried a new-to-us wine -- a burgundy. It was floral and tart all at the same time, and had a beautiful bright red color. It paired very well with the rich, gamey poultry.

The best part of the meal was, of course, cooking it and sharing it with my Valentine: