Duck Prosciutto

My two greatest culinary passions are a) methods of preserving food- the simpler and more flavourful the better – and b) duck! The former being a tether to the distant past when salting and fermenting meant survival for crafty cooks and the latter being the tastiest damn animal know to man.

Now I know I’ve already done a ton of duck recipes, including the great-granddaddy of all preserved duck dishes: confit du canard, but bear with me one more time ‘cause this one’s a keeper. It’s a technique for preserving breasts that results in a semi-cured, dense and beautifully salty-sweet taste reminiscent of prosciutto de parma.  It’s dead-easy and a great entry-level way to get into more serious charcuterie. Read More

Spiced Pumpkin Seed Caramel Popcorn

Halloween’s over and I’m a little surprised by how much candy is left. Despite giving away handfuls of little nightmarishly-coloured sugar thingies, we still have a great big plastic cauldron-full sitting on the kitchen table… Not good. Every time I walk into the kitchen it’s squatting there, watching me, proffering it’s sticky fructose-laden goodies. Sure they taste good, but I’m not sure I can afford all the sleepless nights that follow. Read More