LESLIE’S CONFIT DUCK AND FIG PIE

Christmas is always busy but cooking and enjoying time with family is number one. I like this recipe because you can prepare it days beforehand and just cook it on Christmas Day, and spend more time enjoying your family (or not)! It’s nice served hot or enjoyed the next day at room temperature. The tinned Valette confit duck legs can be purchased from specialty food stores including Maison Vauron in Auckland.

5 tinned confit duck legs (e.g., 1.6-kilogram tin Valette Confit de Canard)

5 shallots, diced

12 button mushrooms, diced

150ml port

400ml chicken stock

2 grams espelette pepper (or use regular pepper)

1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped 80 grams roasted hazelnuts

10 dried figs, diced 2-4 sheets Paneton ready-to-use flaky puff pastry, depending on how large you plan to make your pie

1 large egg, beaten

Open your tin of duck legs and remove the duck fat (keep it for another day to cook your potatoes). Remove the skin from the legs, dice and set aside. Remove the meat from the bones and set aside. Discard the bones.

In a large pot, cook your duck skin until golden and crispy. Add the shallots and mushrooms and cook until nice and soft. Add the duck meat, port and stock and cook for 20 minutes over a low heat. Towards the end, when the liquid is almost gone, add the pepper, parsley, hazelnuts and figs.

Cool the mixture in 1-2 containers that are the shape you would like to make your pie (I make 2 pies with this recipe, so I use 2 containers, but you could do one big one) and once cold, cover in clingfilm and freeze overnight. You can make the filling days before you cook your pie. It helps if the filling is frozen when you assemble the pie as it’s easy to make a nice-looking pie.

Unroll your puff pastry and place your frozen filling on top. Brush the sides of the pastry with the beaten egg, then top with the other piece of pastry. Pinch the sides together to seal and use any extra pastry to decorate the top of your pie with cutouts, if you like. Glaze the pie with beaten egg, then return to the fridge for 15 minutes while the oven heats up.

Preheat the oven to 210°C regular bake.

Bake the pie(s) for around 40 minutes, until really nice and golden. Insert a knife into the centre to check if the centre is hot – if not, reduce the oven temperature to 170°C and bake for another 10 minutes, then check again.

Remove the pie(s) from the oven and place on a rack. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before eating. Serve with a nice cos lettuce salad dressed with cider vinegar and hazelnut oil. SERVES 8-12