FOOD + DRINK
MEET THE CHEF CONT .
James ’ s Duck Leg ‘ Chorley Cake ’
Coming from Wigan , most food is surrounded by some form a pastry whether it be a pie or pasty . However , in the neighbouring town of Chorley they have the sweet and fruity ‘ Chorley Cake ’ closely related to the more famous Eccles Cake .
This is my spin on this classic pastry , by making it savoury with confit duck leg and tart cherries , bound with a red wine jus . Then encased in shortcrust pastry . We serve the ‘ Chorley Cake ’ with roast duck breast , Kentish cherries , glazed chicory and a port , cherry and thyme jus .
Ingredients :
For the confit duck legs
• 2 duck legs
• Vegetable oil
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 2 springs of thyme
• 4 crushed garlic cloves
• 1 roughly chopped shallot
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• Good pinch of salt
For the filling
• 50g chopped dried cherries
• 1 tsp five spice
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 100ml red wine jus or alternatively a nice sauce / gravy
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
For the pastry
• 500g shortcrust pastry
• 1 egg yolk
Method
1 . Firstly , place all the ingredients for the confit duck legs into a pan , with enough vegetable oil to just cover . Then slowly cook on a low heat for 1-2 hours until the meat is falling off the bone .
2 . Remove the legs from the oil , allow to cool slightly . Pick the leg meat , carefully discarding the skin , bones and cartilage .
3 . Combine the duck leg with all the filling ingredients . Season with salt and pepper , to your taste .
4 . While the filling is cooling down , roll out the pastry to the thickness of half a centimetre . Then cut out discs with the diameter of roughly 10cm or a small saucer .
5 . In the centre of the discs , place a heaped tbsp of the filling . Then fold all the edges into the middle and pinch the pastry together . Flip the cakes over , push the down slightly to achieve a flat base , round the edges with the palms of your hands so that the cakes are nice and rounded .
6 . Preheat the oven to 180 ° C . Line a baking tray with parchment paper . Place the cakes on the tray , score the tops of them gently three times . Then brush with egg wash .
7 . Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown .
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