In my father’s kitchen

“From childhood, I knew that he is an amazing cook. It was my father who taught me all the most important things in the culinary arts. Many years ago, together with him, we analyzed and tried classic recipes that somehow worked out especially well for him, and now I am happy to cook them in my own way. I will not hide: when I replaced my father in the kitchen of his restaurant, some dishes became the cause of heated debate for us. Then I wanted to cook in a completely new, my own style. And now, when time has already passed and emotions have subsided, I sincerely pay tribute to my father’s recipes. For example, he always liked to cook duck with young rutabagas or turnips – he still loves this dish, which once seemed rustic to me. Today I propose to try a recipe in which the duck is glazed and baked with spices – this is how we serve it in my London restaurant. Dessert – parfait with Grand Marnier liqueur – is also one of dad’s signature dishes. I remember how some came from afar, just to try it. I didn’t change anything in my dad’s recipe, I only changed the serving of the dish a little: dad liked the combination of parfait with candied tangerines, but I prefer to serve it with kumquats. One spoonful of this dessert is enough for me to feel like a girl again, which I once was … “

For 6 people

Preparation: 35 minutes

Preparation: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 duck weighing about 2 kg
• 50 g honey
• Salt, ground chili pepper

Spice mix:

• 5 g of coriander seeds
• 4 juniper berries
• 4 g ground ginger
• 3 g ground fennel seeds

For the garnish:

• 22 mini rutabaga with leaves
• 30 g duck fat
• 15 g sugar
• 250 ml chicken broth
• 2 Art. l. olive oil
• Sea salt Fleur de sel

For the sauce:

• 30 g honey
• 200 ml sherry vinegar
• 500 ml orange juice
• 300 ml very rich (almost jelly) chicken broth
• Duck costs

Preparation

Duck. Dry coriander seeds and juniper berries in a pan, crush them in a mortar and mix with ground ginger and fennel. Using a pastry brush, coat the duck with a thin layer of honey and roll in ground spices. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 30 minutes. Peel 18 mini rutabagas, reserving some of the tops (4 fresh rutabaga will be needed for garnish). Melt the duck fat in a saucepan and lightly fry the swede in it. Season with sugar, Fleur de sel sea salt and chilli powder. Pour in some chicken broth and simmer covered, checking doneness with the tip of a knife.

Sauce. Heat the honey in a saucepan over low heat until it darkens slightly. Pour in the vinegar and let it boil; then – orange juice, again let it partially boil away, finally add chicken broth jelly. Let the sauce simmer for 15 minutes, then strain. Add very finely chopped duck giblets and simmer in the sauce until it thickens. Thinly slice the set aside 4 mini rutabaga, season with salt and olive oil. Arrange the stewed swede on plates, garnishing with raw swede petals on top; serve with duck and sauce.

Parfait with orange liqueur

For 6 people

Preparation: 30 minutes

Cooling: 6 hours (in the freezer)

Ingredients

• 90 g sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 500 ml cream
• 40 ml Grand Marnier orange liqueur
• 3 kumquats (for decoration)

Preparation

Boil the syrup by adding 90 ml of water to the sugar, cool slightly and pour into the egg yolks, stirring constantly. While continuing to stir, cook the mixture in a water bath over medium heat until it thickens. Remove from heat and cool while continuing to stir the mixture with an electric whisk. Whip the cream in a well-chilled bowl. Gently fold the whipped cream and liqueur into the egg mixture and immediately pour into the moulds. Put in the freezer for 6 hours.

A two Michelin-starred chef, Hélène Darroze runs restaurants in Paris, London and Moscow (see her website helenedarroze.com for more details). Every month, she shares her favorite recipes with us and talks about what has been a source of culinary inspiration for her.