4/11

Last night's theme was "what do I need to clear out of the fridge?"  There was some frozen duck breast in the freezer, so I decided I would finish it off before it get freezer burn.  After consulting my books, I concluded that duck was not a super Basque meat.  I found one recipe for a duck stew, but I decided against it.  I then hit the internet and a video of someone making piperade with duck eggs.  He rightly called piperade a Basque "mother sauce."  I had been meaning to make a piperade at some point, and yesterday was as good a day as any.  I learned from the video that piperade is a very versatile sauce: it can be served on it's own as an appetizer, or on bread with eggs cooked into it for breakfast, or with meat.   I did a similar web search for artichokes (I thought I had more recipes for them than I actually did).   I served the artichokes and duck with a potato recipe I found in Pedro Martin's Tapas of San Sebastian


Duck with Piperade

Here's where I got the recipe which I scaled down to serve 4:  http://cookblast.com/video/basque-piperade-w-duck-eggs-3274899

Piperade:

1/3 cup olive oil
1 chopped onion
7 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
2/3 T. paprika
1/3 T. salt
1 t. sugar
1/3 T espelette chili
1 1/4 cup canned tomatoes (whole)
1 1/4 cup roasted peppers (sliced)
Sautee onions, garlic, and spices until the onions are translucent.  Add the tomatoes and roasted peppers.  Break up the tomatoes with wooden spoon.  When they are broken up simmer for 25-30 minutes.


I made the duck with the help of Gordon Ramsay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOo2QMV6fHA
He says to preheat the oven to 200 degrees. He means celsius (it took a while to figure that out.)

Potatoes
potatoes
parsley
espelette chili (optional- he didn't ask for this but there was something red in the picture... it gives them a bit of a kick)
salt and pepper

Par boil the potatoes and then sautee with the parsley and chili until they are golden.  Salt and pepper to taste.




Artichokes
From this website: http://handtomouthkitchen.wordpress.com/2007/08/04/euskadi-artichokes/

Although she had canned artichokes, I had fresh ones, so I cleaned the hearts. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV7iU0NoYSs). I then steamed them for about 45 minutes. Then I followed her recipe: I didn't have any Serano ham, so I used the small amount of prosciutto I had in my fridge. I sautteed the ham for a few seconds and then I added the artichokes.