Sweet Potato and Duck Hash

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Sweet Potato and Duck Hash .jpg

Breakfast in bed is an indulgence and an art; this hash lives up to the occasion. The sweetness of the potatoes is the perfect foil for the rich duck. (Do yourself a favour and buy ready-made duck confit at a gourmet prepared-food shop.) The microgreens add a burst of colour, but you can also swap them for your favourite herb. Serve it all with strips of toasted foccacia or my tarragon-fennel biscuits.


Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 2 confit duck legs, 6 ounces (175 grams) each
  • 5 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 5 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 4 cups peeled and diced sweet potatoes, in 1/2-inch dice
  • 2 cup onions, diced
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 4 fried eggs
  • 1 cup microgreens

Method

Place duck legs skin-side up in a medium pan over medium-low heat. Cook for 5 minutes or until fat begins to render. Add garlic cloves, flip and cook for 3 more minutes. Peel skin and excess fat from legs. Return skin and fat to pan and reserve legs. Increase heat to medium and cook skin until it’s crispy and all the fat has rendered, flipping occasionally (6 to 8 more minutes). Place skin on a paper-towel-lined plate with garlic. Reserve duck fat.

Strip the duck meat from the bones and discard the bones. Chop the meat and crumble the skin. Reserve.

Top up duck fat with enough vegetable oil to reach 1/4 cup. Heat fat and oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sweet potatoes and sauté until they begin to turn a golden colour (about 5 minutes).

Add onions, season with salt and freshly ground pepper and cook covered until onions are soft and potatoes are golden (about 6 to 8 more minutes). Stir in thyme. Chop cooked garlic and add it to the skillet along with duck meat and parsley. Add chicken stock to moisten everything. Bring to boil. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately (or reheat later).

Pile hash on 4 plates, topping with a fried egg, crumbled duck skin and microgreens.

Suggested Wine Pairings

At last, a holiday from all that Gwyneth Paltrow spa food for power mommies. Duck confit on its own would be divine with pinot noir or a good cru beaujolais, even barolo from Italy. But there are other elements at work here, most notably sweetness in the form of the sweet potatoes and sautéed onions. Adventurous imbibers might, for that reason, want to consider an aromatic, richly fruited and vaguely sweet white, such as gewürztraminer or pinot gris (especially, though not exclusively, Alsatian). The glorious perfume will wake up mom’s senses after the morning coffee wakes up her nerves. – Beppi Crosariol