Recipe Char-grilled monkfish with confit duck, red and yellow peppers and red wine sauce

[Morning Glory]

I am reluctant to post this recipe as I managed to mess it up. But I made this for The Cookbook Game #3 so the rules state I must post the recipe. It is a good recipe if you are confident and experienced enough to do it! But I'd recommend practising making roulades first with less expensive ingredients, if you haven't made one before. I'd made roulades several times before, so I felt reasonably confident. But I was wrong! If you want to see the photos they can be found here.

The combination of confit duck with monkfish is delightful and works well with the peppers and tomato sauce. Made correctly this would be a real gourmet treat!

Recipe from Gordon Ramsay's Three Star Chef (2008)

Ingredients (serves 4 as a main course)

• 2 monkfish tail fillets, about 300g each sea salt and black pepper
• 4 duck legs, about 175g each few thyme sprigs 1 bay leaf 300-350ml duck or goose fat, melted
• 1 boneless chicken breast, about 120g, skinned and chopped 1 tbsp lemon juice 2 tbsp double cream
• 1 red pepper, quartered and deseeded 1 yellow pepper, quartered and deseeded
• 3-4 tbsp tomato sauce
• Wilted baby leaf spinach, sauteed courgettes and shimeji mushrooms

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas 3. Season the duck legs with salt and pepper and place in a small roasting pan or heavy casserole in which they fit quite snugly. Add the thyme and bay leaf, then pour over enough duck fat to cover the legs. Lay a piece of crumpled greaseproof paper on top. Place over a low heat and slowly bring the fat to a low simmer. Carefully transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 11/2-2 hours until the meat is meltingly tender and easily falls off the bone. Leave the duck to cool in the fat.
2. Put the chicken in a food processor with the lemon juice, cream and some seasoning. Whiz to a smooth purée. To check the seasoning, blanch a little spoonful of the filling then taste. Transfer the mousse to a bowl, cover with cling film and chill for 20 minutes to firm up slightly.
3. Pat the monkfish tail with kitchen paper, then season well. Spread half the chicken mousse on a large piece of cling film to a rectangle, long and wide enough to wrap a monkfish tail. Lay a monkfish tail on the rectangle and wrap the chicken mousse around it, using the cling film to make it easier. Holding both ends of the cling film, roll the fish on the work surface to ensure that it is evenly covered with the mousse. Repeat with the other monkfish tail and remaining chicken mousse. Chill while you prepare the duck.
4. Remove the duck legs from the fat and pat dry with kitchen paper. Strip the meat from the bones and finely shred with two forks. Put into a bowl and season well. Moisten with a little duck fat and mix well. Divide the duck meat into two portions and place one on a large piece of cling film. Spread out to a rectangle, large enough to envelope a monkfish roll. Remove the cling film from one of the monkfish rolls and lay on the duck meat. Wrap around the roll, again using the cling film. (The chicken mousse will help to bind the duck meat to the monkfish.) Grasp both ends of the cling film and roll the monkfish to tighten and even out the shape of the log. Repeat with the other monkfish roll and remaining confit duck. Secure the ends and chill for 1-2 hours until firm.
5. Poach the monkfish. Lower the rolls, still wrapped in cling film, into a pan of gently simmering water. Poach for 8-10 minutes until just cooked through. The fish should feel slightly springy when cooked. Cool completely and chill if not serving immediately.
6. Prepare the peppers. Preheat the grill to high. Lay the peppers, skin side up, on a baking sheet and grill, turning occasionally, until the skins have blackened and blistered all over. Tip into a bowl, cover with cling film and set aside for a few minutes (the steam will help to lift the skins). Uncover and peel off the skins, then chop the peppers.
7. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Put the chopped peppers in a pan with the tomato sauce and warm through. Heat a griddle pan until hot. Unwrap the monkfish rolls and griddle for about 2 minutes on each side, until the confit duck coating is nicely charred. Transfer the fish to a baking tray and place in the oven for 4-5 minutes until heated through. Remove and rest for a few minutes.
8. To serve, spoon the peppers in tomato sauce into a rectangular metal mould set on a warm serving plate. Cover with a thin layer of spinach, then remove the mould. Repeat for the remaining plates. Thinly slice the monkfish and arrange on the spinach. Dot a little garlic purée around the plate if you like. Garnish with the sautéed courgettes and mushrooms, drizzle over a little olive oil and spoon over the red wine sauce as you serve.