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Confit duck and petits pois à la Français

Duckling with peas was a traditional northern dish for Whitsun. This is a slightly different take on the same ingredients, using pre-prepared confit duck – an extremely easy and delicious ingredient which you can find in the high-end supermarkets, delis and online – and serving it with petits pois (plus a few other spring vegetables) à la Français is a delicious way of eating the young fresh greens that are available in abundance right now.

Serves 4

750g tin confit duck

50g butter

2 shallots, finely chopped 12 sticks asparagus, trimmed 400g peas (podded or frozen) 2 small heads baby gem lettuce, trimmed and quartered

400ml veg or chicken stock

1 Heat your oven to 220C/200C Fan/ Gas 7. Remove the confited duck legs from the tin and lay them on a baking tray (pour the leftover fat into a jar for future frying and roasting). Put in the oven for 20 mins before you intend to serve it, or – if you’d like it a little crispier – remove it from the oven, pour the excess fat into your jar for another day, and pull the meat off the bones before grilling for a few mins.

2 While the duck cooks, heat the butter in a heavy frying pan over a medium heat and soften the shallots. Once softened, drop in the asparagus, peas, and lettuce and fry for a further 1-2 mins before pouring in just enough stock to part cover the vegetables. Turn up the heat and allow it all to bubble together for a few mins, turning everything occasionally, until the asparagus is soft, then season to taste.

3 To serve, scoop out the vegetables with a slatted spoon so that just a little stock clings to them. Divide the vegetables and duck between four plates and eat immediately.