Matthew's recipe: Spiced duck rice with Jukes 2

Each month, Matthew Jukes gives you a simple but stunning starter or main course recipe to serve with either Jukes 1, 6 or 8.  

This month is Jukes 2 paired with Spiced Duck Rice (approx. for two).

Ingredients - Spiced Duck Rice

2 ‘skin on’ good quality Duck legs

150g Long grain rice or Bomba paella rice

500ml dark Chicken stock (or better still duck stock) - it’s important to use a flavourful stock

A healthy handful of Frozen peas

2-3 banana shallots finely sliced

1 large clove of garlic finely sliced

1 small bunch of Flat-leaf parsley - leaves finely chopped

1 teaspoon of Ground cinnamon

1 Cinnamon stick

1 small Bay leaf

25g Salted butter or a couple of tablespoons of Extra virgin olive oil

Half a glass of white wine (optional)

Salt and Pepper

Method - Heat oven to 200 degrees C.

Ensure the skin on the duck legs is dry (pat down with kitchen towel) and rub half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and a good pinch of salt all over the duck legs.

Place duck in a roasting tray skin side up, preferably on a rack and roast at 200C for 20 mins, then turn the oven down to 160C and roast for another 40 mins or until the flesh is tender and the skin is crisp. The set the duck aside to rest.

In a large, deep frying pan (a paella pan would be best if you have one) melt the butter or olive oil and add the cinnamon stick and bay leaf.  Gently fry the shallots and garlic until they are soft and starting to caramelise and sweeten.

Once the shallots are cooked, tip in the rice and fry it, on a low heat, for a couple of minutes ensuring that the grains are well coated in the melted butter.  Turn up the heat a little and add the wine and let it bubble away until it has been absorbed.

Tip in the stock until the rice is covered and bring to a gentle simmer.  Try, if you can, not to stir the rice too much and leave it gently simmering for 10mins (depending on the rice you choose this time will vary), until the rice still a touch firm and not quite cooked.  Tip in the frozen peas gently nudging them into the rice so they warm up.

Lift out the cinnamon stick and bay leaf and with two forks shred the duck and push the flesh into the rice to warm it up.  You may need to watch the stock and add more if the rice is drying out, but test the rice and once the rice is cooked, but still retains a bit of bite, season well with salt and masses of cracked black pepper and then scatter with the chopped parsley.

Serve immediately alongside a steamed green vegetable like purple sprouting broccoli or cavolo nero.