Grant Allen shows us a fun way to serve South Pacific-inspired duck at your next dinner party.

Confit de Canard may not seem too South Pacific, but in all the branches of the wonderful supermarkets in exotic places such as Noumea, you will find Confit de Canard, canned! You can buy it here in New Zealand too and it makes for a very elegant dinner party solution.

Making duck confit begins with the joints of the duck being salted. The salt is washed off the next day and the duck is dried. After cooking in its own fat, the duck joints are packed into a container or canned, the fat poured over the duck and the confit stored in a cool dark place to use later. The duck fat seals the meat and preserves it by not allowing any air to contact the cooked meat.

To use canned duck confit: Take the duck joints from the fat and set aside. Peel some roasting potatoes and cut them into chunky slices. Put them in a roasting dish and smother them with the duck fat you have removed the duck from. Cook on until done, drain off the fat and crisp up on some paper towel, in the oven.Take the duck joints and pop them in a moderate oven for 10-15 minutes to reheat the duck. Once the duck is reheated, turn on the grill and crisp up the skin.

To Serve: Remember the duck has been salted and the duck fat is rich, so we need some fresh, sweet and slightly sharp flavours to contrast. Do not salt the potatoes! Offer some boiled baby beets, some crispy lettuce or some wilted savoy cabbage and be liberal with the cracked pepper.

| Grant Allen