Chateau Montfort

Shelling peas. Is there a better way to maroon children at the kitchen table and have a lovely long conversation in the cyber age? Armed with the inspiration of @ivanebejer and his delicious recent post on smashed pea and mint tartines, I bought a huge bag of peas, however, sadly ours didn’t quite make it to the smashing part- they were too sweet and disappeared faster than they filled the bowl. Instead, we had a family favourite for dinner; Hoisin duck pancakes and this is where we get to the recipe post that’s not really a recipe.

This is the thing to cook when something goes wrong, or when you have just 5 mins to assemble a few ingredients for a crowd of people. All you need to ensure you have as a staple in your pantry are a tin or two of confit duck legs and a bottle of Hoisin Sauce. I also keep a good stock of pre-prepared packets of frozen hoisin duck pancakes in the freezer. As for fresh ingredients, I usually have a cucumber in the fridge and chives and mint growing in the garden, but if you don’t, then be a bit creative. Lettuce would work well, but the mint really is in my opinion, essential.

So how do you make these quick and easy Hoisin duck pancakes?

1. Take one tin of confit duck legs. Place on an oven tray and heat for 10 mins.
2. While this is happening, pour yourself a large glass of good wine ( important ). Sip & Repeat.
3. Heat the pre-made (from Asian supermarket) pancakes in the microwave.
4. Shred the duck meat and remove the bones.
5. Serve the duck with a platter of cucumber batons, sliced shallots, fresh mint, warmed pancakes and Hoisin sauce.
6. Refill wine glass.
7. Assemble your pancake as desired and eat.

I’m pretty confident this is an original Antipodean spin on confit duck (usually served with roast potatoes and green beans). It might also be my shortest post ever.

P.S. No pictures of the wraps. They require two free hands and were so delicious I forgot to take out my camera!

P.P.S. Although the peas were entirely accidental, I highly recommend an entree of freshly shelled peas. Seriously, a huge platter in the middle of the table when friends are over, makes for a super social pre-dinner snack, especially when paired with a glass of chilled white wine!

See what happens to French cuisine when an Aussie is let loose with traditional ingredients!