Duck Prosciutto Breadsticks With Ricotta And Dried Figs Recipes

WINEY FIGS, PROSCIUTTO AND RICOTTA CROSTINI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Using a small knife, trim the stems off the figs and cut the figs in half lengthwise.
• Place the figs and the wine in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, and simmer about 20 minutes until figs have absorbed most of the wine and they are tender and fat. Remove figs with a slotted spoon to a bowl and reserve for later. Some reduced wine should remain for sauce; return wine to medium heat and simmer again until reduced by half and a syrupy liquid remains. Let cool slightly.
• Slice demi-baguette into 1/2-inch slices. Lay the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast lightly in the oven, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
• Spread a tablespoon of ricotta on each crostini then lay a small piece of prosciutto on top of the cheese. Place fig halves on top of the meat and finish by drizzling the remaining reduced wine on top of the figs. Serve immediately.

DUCK PROSCIUTTO BREADSTICKS WITH RICOTTA AND DRIED FIGS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Toast breadsticks on a baking sheet in middle of oven until golden, about 15 minutes.
• Wrap each breadstick with a slice of prosciutto, leaving ends of bread exposed, and keep, covered, at room temperature.
• Stir together ricotta, tarragon, figs, garlic (to taste), oil, 2 tablespoons milk, salt, and pepper. If too thick for dipping, stir in 1 or 2 tablespoons of remaining milk.
• Just before serving, drizzle ricotta dip with additional oil and serve with breadsticks.

PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED BREADSTICKS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a heavy large baking sheet with a silpat (nonstick baking mat) or parchment paper. Tear the dough along the perforations into strips. Using a pizza cutter or a large sharp knife, cut each dough strip in half lengthwise to form thin strips. Working with 1 dough strip at a time, roll each dough strip in the Parmesan cheese and twist. Transfer the dough strips to the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake until the breadsticks are golden brown and crisp, about 20 minutes. Cool the breadsticks completely on the baking sheet.
• Before serving, wrap 1 slice of prosciutto around each cooled breadstick. Arrange the prosciutto-wrapped breadsticks on a platter.

PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED BREADSTICKS

Steps:

• Wrap 1 slice of prosciutto around each breadstick, leaving 5 to 6 inches of exposed bread at one end.

PROSCIUTTO BREADSTICKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Cut each slice of prosciutto into 4 thin strips. Unroll dough; separate into breadsticks. Top each with 2 strips prosciutto, pressing gently to adhere. Twist each breadstick; place on ungreased baking sheet, pressing ends down firmly. Brush with beaten egg., Combine fennel and pepper; sprinkle over breadsticks. Bake 10-13 minutes or until golden brown.

FIGS WITH DUCK PROSCIUTTO AND SORREL

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together the honey and mustard.
• On a work surface, lay out the prosciutto slices and top each with a sorrel strip. Using a pastry brush, coat each lightly with some of the honey mustard. Place a fig, rounded side down, in the middle of each strip and wrap the prosciutto and sorrel around it. Push a toothpick from the base of each parcel through the top, pinning together the overlapping prosciutto and sorrel. Transfer to a serving platter and serve.

HOME-CURED DUCK PROSCIUTTO

Steps:

• Gently wash duck breast of excess blood and then dry with a towel, try to get rid of as much surface water as possible and set aside.
• In a bowl prepare the curing mix by mixing the salt and the brown sugar evenly. Alternatively you can mix all contents into a jar seal it and shake until evenly mixed.
• In an air-tight plastic container pour about 1inch thick of of the curing mix, and gently lay the duck breast (skin side up) ontop of it. ,Make sure the breast doesn't touch the sides of the container.
• Pour the remaining mix ontop of the breast, completely covering it and filling the container (make more if there is not enough to fill the container).
• Place the sealed container in the fridge and leave for 1 to 2 days.
• The salt is now curing the meat and drawing the moisture out of the duck breast. Thus preserving the meat and enabling it for human consumtion without cooking, just like italian proscuitto. The sugar imparts a slight sweet flavour onto the meet to offset the saltiness.
• After 1 to 2 days remove the container from the fridge and remove the duck breast from the cure mix.
• Quickly wash off the excess mix with water, but don't keep it under the water for too long.
• Pat the cured breast dry and wrap tightly with a clean muslin, cheese, or thick cloth. Suspend the duck from a string in a dry, warm area for 5 to 7 days to thoroughly dry the duck out.
• Alternatively at this stage the breast can be thinnly sliced and pan fried as a duck version of pork bacon.
• After 5 to 7 days the duck is ready to be thinnly sliced like normal proscuitto and used in salads, pastas, or served as part of a meat & cheese platter. Enjoy and watch your friends' reactions when you tell them you cured the proscuitto yourself!
• To store, keep duck refridgerated and wrapped in clingfilm.
• Flavour Variations: To impart other suttle flavours into the meat feel free to add dried herbs and spices to the curing mix before curing. Dried orange peel, dried cranberries, and pink peppercorns work nicely with duck breast. The overall curing mix should always work on a 3 parts salt to 1 part everything else.

DUCK PROSCIUTTO

Steps:

• Weigh breasts individually so you can check their progress toward curing. With a sharp knife, score skin of each breast in a crisscross pattern. Put about 1 cup salt (a half-inch layer) in a nonreactive baking dish that will just hold the breasts without touching. Nestle breasts on top of salt, skin side up. Pour more salt over breasts so that they are completely covered. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 24 hours.
• Remove duck from salt, rinse thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels. The flesh should feel dense and its color will have deepened. Dust breasts with pepper on both sides.
• Wrap each breast in cheesecloth and tie with string. Hang for about 7 days in a cool (50 to 60 degrees is optimal), humid place, like a garage, a basement or in an unlit fireplace. After curing, the flesh should be stiff but not hard throughout; the color will be a deep rich red. If they still feel raw in the center, hang for a day or two longer. Generally, dry-cured products are ready when they have lost 30 percent of their original weight.
• Remove cheesecloth, wrap duck in plastic and refrigerate until ready to use. It will keep several weeks or more.

PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED BREADSTICKS WITH FIG

Steps:

• Make the fig spread:
• In a small saucepan simmer the figs in the Port and the water with the sugar, covered, for 20 minutes and simmer the mixture, uncovered, until the liquid is reduced to about 1 tablespoon. In a food processor (preferably small) purée the fig mixture with the mustard and the lemon juice and transfer the spread to a small bowl. The fig spread may be made 1 week in advance, kept covered and chilled, and allowed to return to room temperature.
• Working with 1 prosciutto slice at a time, spread one side of each slice with 1/2 teaspoon of the fig spread, fold the slice lengthwise into a thin strip, and wrap it in a spiral around 1 of the breadsticks. The breadsticks should be wrapped no more than 30 minutes in advance.

FIG AND DUCK PROSCIUTTO SALAD

Steps:

• Using a vegetable peeler, make thin strips of cucumber. This makes for nice ribbons and a more subtle taste than your average cucumber slice.
• If you're lucky, you have access to fresh figs; otherwise, a good dried fig will do.
• Toss the cucumbers, figs, spinach and prosciutto in a bowl.
• To serve:.
• Divide the salad among individual plates and drizzle each serving with some olive oil and then some balsamic reduction. (You can buy a reduction from the store or you can just set some balsamic vinegar on medium heat and simmer until reduced by half.).
• Cook's Note:.
• For an easy charcuterie experience, make your own duck prosciutto. This is essentially a salt-cured duck breast that is wrapped and hung until it loses about 20 percent of its mass. Make sure to slice the prosciutto as thinly as possible.