Frisée with Duck Confit, Spiced Walnuts and Honeycrisp Apples

As a child, it was crunchy, watery Iceberg.  As a teenager, crispy, leafy Romaine.  As a young adult, green Mesclun, tender Mâche and spicy Arugula.  As an adult, bitter, curly-leaved Frisée.  

I won’t lie, it took many, many years to acquire a taste for this unique green of rather unusual texture that tickles the  mouth.  I did not fully appreciate its qualities until I had my first Salade Lyonnaise, which is basically frisée dressed in a warm vinaigrette with bacon lardons and topped with a gorgeous poached egg that can be broken to let the warm, silky yolk soak the leaves.  There’s just some indecipherable quality to this sturdy green that lends itself very well to unctuous foods, like duck confit, for instance.

Alternative presentation, the leg was crisped up in a pan and warmed in the oven (thigh bone removed).

With fall creeping in, I thought a frisée salad with the duck confit I had made, apples and walnuts would make a great appetizer.  A tart cider vinaigrette to brighten the dish, and a little spice mixed in with the roasted nuts for some added  kick.  Being quackacious little me, I actually roasted the nuts in duck fat, which turned out wonderfully.  Butter, of course, can be substituted.  To top it all off, I dried out some apple chips in the oven.  I would’ve loved to make Lady Apple rings, but its still too early, so I ended up cutting the apple into wedges, as my mandolin was a little too short in width to cut a full-sized Honeycrisp.  The end result still worked.

Apple chips fresh out of the oven.

DUCK SALAD
serves 2-4 people

For the salad:
1 ea duck leg confit, bones and skin removed, meat shredded*
1 large head frisée, washed, dried, green trimmed off and cut into 1″ pieces
1/2 Honeycrisp apple, julienned**
to taste, spiced walnuts (recipe follows)
to taste, cider vinaigrette (recipe follows)
to taste apple chips (recipe follows)
to taste, salt and fresh ground pepper

Prep the vinaigrette, walnuts and apple chips.  Clean frisée.  Julienne the apple at the last minute, and toss everything but the apple chips together.  Taste for seasoning and adjust.  Garnish with chips and serve immediately.

Cider Vinaigrette:
1/4 C cider vinegar
1 tbl honey
1 tsp minced shallot
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
3/4 c canola oil

Combine vinegar, honey, shallot and mustard in a glass bowl.  Drizzle in the oil slowly, whisking in.  Store in the fridge.

Spiced Walnuts:
1 tbl duck fat or butter
1/2 c walnuts
2 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/16 tsp cloves
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Combine the spices.  Melt the fat in a small pan over medium heat and add the walnuts.  Toss to coat.  Add in spice mix, tossing to coat evenly.  Place in oven and toast for about 10 minutes.  Store in an airtight container.

Apple Chips:
1/2 each Honeycrisp apple, sliced thinly into desired shape, about 1/8″ thick**
as needed, 10x (confectioner’s sugar)

Preheat oven to 200˚F.  Place a silpat on a sheetpan.  Sprinkle 10x over the silpat evenly.  Cut the apples (best done on a mandolin) and lay the apple slices onto the silpat.  Sprinkle with 10x again, and place in the oven until crispy and dried out, about 1 hour.  

Best way to test:  remove a chip from the silpat and allow to cool.  Eat it.  Its easiest to remove the chips when still warm.  If they cool too quickly, just return to the oven to warm up and try again.

Store in an airtight container, ideally with a food grade silica gel pack to absorb the moisture.

* Duck confit is easier to work with when brought to room temperature first.

**  One could julienne the apple ahead of time and toss it with lemon juice or store it in acidulated water to prevent oxidation.  However, I find the lemon adds too much sourness, killing the apple flavor, and the water makes the apples mushy.  I find it best to just cut the fruit  à la minute.  Same for the apple chips:  once they are cut, bake them immediately to prevent discoloration.  

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