Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go
Serves 6
- 6 confit duck legs (or goose legs)
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 2 shallots, finely chopped (frozen work too) or 1 small red onion, finely sliced
- 200 ml (¾ cup + 1 Tbsp) water with 1 tsp veal stock base (or beef stock)
- 1 tsp balsamic glaze
- 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) sweet potatoes
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Breadcrumbs (or panko breadcrumbs)
- Salt, pepper
If you can find ready-made confit duck legs, you can skip the first step, shred the meat and go straight to the sweet potato mash.
Making the confit duck legs
This step can be done the day before.
- Arrange the duck legs in a Dutch oven or a large heavy pot, cover and bake for 4 hours at 150-160°C (300-325°F), turning them from time to time. They’re ready when the bone pulls away easily.
- If you’d rather not use the oven, simply cook them over low heat, covered, until they have released just about all their fat (this takes a while), turning them to brown the other side, until they are very tender (the bone comes away easily). Once the heat is off, remove most of the fat (keep 2 Tbsp) and set that fat aside in a sterilized jar for another use.
Whatever you do, don’t throw away the goose fat: it keeps for months in the fridge in a sterilized jar and you can use it for other recipes like confit gizzards or Sarladaise potatoes (potatoes fried in duck fat), for example. It’s delicious and it saves you having to buy any!
- Remove the skin and bones from the legs and shred the meat (easiest with your fingers). In a saucepan with a little goose fat, brown the chopped shallot, then add the shredded duck with a glass of water mixed with 1 tsp veal stock base, the balsamic glaze and the parsley, and season with pepper. Simmer for about ten minutes to reduce the sauce. When the consistency is to your liking (for me, silky, neither too runny nor too dry), spread it in the baking dish.
Zero-waste tip for the goose or duck skin: set the skins aside, cut them into strips and fry them with (or without) a thinly sliced onion. You’ll get delicious crispy skin and fried onion chips, an Ashkenazi Jewish specialty from Eastern Europe called gribenes. So good.
Making the sweet potato mash
Peel the sweet potatoes, cut them into chunks and put them in a steamer basket set over a pot of water with a few sprigs of rosemary in the water. Steam for about 15 minutes. I prefer steaming to boiling because it keeps the vitamins and stops the sweet potato from soaking up water like a sponge.
When the sweet potatoes are tender, mash them in a bowl using a blender or a food mill with a fine disc, add a drizzle of olive oil, salt (half a teaspoon), pepper, the nutmeg and a few of the rosemary sprigs from the cooking water. You should get a lovely, very smooth mash. If it’s too thick, add a tablespoon of the cooking water, or more (careful not to turn it into soup), until you get the right consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
The bonus topping
If you like them and have the time, you can sauté some finely sliced mushrooms (ideally a mix: button, porcini, chanterelles, oyster mushrooms) in a wok or very hot skillet with 1 clove garlic and 1 shallot, both finely chopped, plus salt, pepper and parsley. Spoon these over the parmentier just before serving. It’s a little extra that goes wonderfully with the dish.
Baking the parmentier
Preheat the oven to 210°C (410°F). Cover the shredded duck with the sweet potato mash, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, then bake on a rack for 20 minutes, switching to the broiler (grill) for the last 5 minutes if you like. Serve piping hot with the sautéed mushrooms and a nice green salad.
Tips and variations
- For entertaining, you can also serve this parmentier in individual portions, in mini cocottes for example.
- If you have some, you can mix the breadcrumbs with ground hazelnuts, it’s excellent too.
- For a more classic version, you can of course swap the sweet potatoes for regular potatoes.
- If you’re making this parmentier ahead, I recommend preparing the confit, the mash and the mushrooms without assembling them; put everything in the dish only on the day, right before baking. Remember that if it has been in the fridge, it will need 30 minutes in the oven to be properly hot.