Gnudi with crisp duck confit, chestnuts and persillade
Meaning ‘naked’ in Italian, these gnudi are anything but in this version: the dumplings are clothed in duck confit, crispy duck skin and a flavoursome parsley seasoning.
Equipment and preparation: You will need a piping bag.
Ingredients
For the confit duck
- 2 ready-made duck confit legs
For the gnudi
- 450g/1lb ricotta, drainedÌý
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú parmesan, gratedÌý
- pinch salt
- 250g/9oz semolina ´Ú±ô´Ç³Ü°ùÌý
- 50g/2oz butterÌý
- 3-4 strips cavolo nero
For the persillade
- duck leg with skin removed (from above)
- 2 shallots, finely diced
- 2 tbsp choppedÌýfresh parsley
- 2 garlic cloves, choppedÌý
- ½ tsp chopped fresh thymeÌýleaves
- pinch allspice
- pinch five-spice powder
- 6 pre-cooked chestnuts, chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
To make the confit duck, preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Remove the skin from the duck and set aside any duck fat remaining in the tin or packet, along with the rest of the duck leg. Put the duck skin flat between two baking trays and bake for 15–20 minutes, or until crisp. Carefully remove from the oven and break the skin into shards.
To make the gnudi, mix the ricotta with the parmesan and salt in a large bowl.
Transfer the mixture to a piping bag. Put the semolina in a shallow tray and pipe the ricotta into strips on the tray. Cut the gnudi into small pieces and sprinkle with more semolina flour until totally covered.
Heat the butter in a light-coloured pan over a medium heat. Stir to move the butter around as it melts. After about 5 minutes, the butter will turn golden-brown, any foam will subside and it will have a rich and nutty aroma. Blanch the cavolo nero in a pan of boiling water for 30 seconds. Carefully remove, drain and set aside.
Prepare a pan of boiling, salted water and then boil the gnudi for 2 minutes, or until cooked through. Toss the gnudi in the browned butter to coat, along with the cavolo nero.
Meanwhile, to make the persillade, shred the meat from the duck legs using your hands.
Warm the meat in a pan with a little duck fat until crisp. Add the shallots, parsley, garlic, thyme, spices and chestnuts and toss together. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.Ìý
To serve, spoon some gnudi and cavolo into a serving dish, add some of the duck confit and finish with the crisp skin.Ìý
