Eons ago there was a little homemade sorbet stand on 7th Avenue, down around West 10th Street. It was not much more than a shack, crammed between two other small buildings.
The shack has long since disappeared. Now there’s a glamorous NY Sports Club perched upon a Gourmet Garage taking up that block.
Gone but not forgotten, that little shack, at least by me. Those were the early days of flavor exploration, back when mixing it up was daring and new. When surprising combinations could magically be born of things that made sense and tasted good. Before one had to include fennel pollen or ghost peppers or foraged wild ragwort in desserts to get noticed.
RECIPE:
Pink Grapefruit Campari Duckling
1 4 lb. duckling
s&p
2 pink or Ruby Red grapefruits
2 T. sugar
1/4 c. + 2 T. pink grapefruit marmalade (or orrange or pummelo marmalade will work nicely too)
3 c. rich chicken stock
1 carrot
1 onion
1 T. cornstarch
2 shots Campari
1 bunch of watercress
Preheat oven to 475º.
Remove all fat globs from the neck and bottom cavities of the duck and set aside. (These chunks of fat can be rendered over low heat in a sauce pan and the resulting liquid fat can be used to fry potatoes. Highly recommended, either now or later.)
Pat the duck dry inside and out. Liberally apply salt and pepper inside and out.
Place the duck on a roasting rack in a low roasting pan (sides 2″ high) breast side down.
Roast for 45 minutes, until the back is brown and crisp.
Turn the duck over. Use a small spatula or spoon to smear 2 T. of marmalade over the breast and legs of the duck. Return to oven. Use a kettle to cover the bottom of the roasting pan with a puddle of water, which will help reduce burnt blobs of marmalade that will fall off the duck.
Roast 30-40 more minutes, until the skin is golden brown and crisp.
While the duck is roasting, prepare the sauce:
To make long thick strands of grapefruit rind use the large center blade of a citrus zester; sometimes this larger blade is an eye hole on the side of the tool’s head.
Place the strands of rind in a small sauce pan and simmer in enough water to cover for 20 minutes, until the grapefruit is soft and very pliant. Drain and discard the water.
Cut one of the grapefruits in half and juice it. It should yield about 1/2 cup. Add fresh juice to the reserved sauce.
Trim the white pith off the remaining grapefruit so the pink flesh is revealed, making a juicy pink ball. Use a paring knife to remove the flesh in neat segments: insert the knife down alongside on the the walls of a segment, then repeat on the other side, making a V. The segment will come out raw on all sides with no membrane attached. Repeat until all the segments are removed.
Wash and dry the watercress.
To finish the dish:
When the duck is done, remove it to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
Bring the stock/juice combo to a simmer in a saucepan
Pour off fat that has accumulated in the roasting pan.
Place the roasting pan over the cooking element of the stove to. Pour in 2 jigger shots of Campari and with a flat wooden spoon scrape up all the brown bits in the bottom of the pan. Add a little of the simmer stock if needed to get up all the brown bits. (Avoid scraping up too much of any blackened marmalade residue. A little is inevitable and that’s okay). Stir the remaining 1/4. cup of marmalade into the liquid in the pan to dissolve.
Pour the liquid from the pan into the sauce in the pan and return all to a simmer. Take out 1/4 c. in a mixing cup and use a spoon to stir in the tablespoon of cornstarch until it’s a thick paste. Use the spoon to stir the paste into the simmering sauce. Use a whisk to smooth out the sauce, simmer for 2 minutes. Taste for s&p and adjust accordingly.
To serve remove the rind from the sauce. Make a bed of watercress on a serving platter, place the duck on top. Scatter the grapefruit segments Arrange the rind ribbons across the duck in an attractive manner.
Pour a little of the simmering sauce over the duck and onto the watercress and fruit.
Carve the duck at the table and serve with the remaining sauce.
