Duckstrami

Last weekend our cooking group cooked up an American barbecue of which this brilliant recipe from the Hang Fire Cookbook was the standout dish so I really wanted to share it with you.

As Sam and Shauna say you can serve it cold but we had it hot and it was utterly delicious so I wouldn't hesitate to double the quantity.

NOTE - just to reiterate you need to start it two days in advance

Duckstrami

SERVES 2–4

Cooking methods: Curing, Indirect Grilling/Smoking

Wood: Apple, Pear, Cherry

What’s not to like about duck pastrami? This is a great recipe that we’ve been making for the past couple of years and it really isn’t as complex as you might think. You can eat it cold, shave it over salad served with a nice punchy blackberry reduction, have it as part of a charcuterie board, or make the most awesome duck Reuben. As with all cured meats, this is gonna take patience, you’re looking at starting the recipe two days in advance.

4 good-quality duck breasts (about 250g each)

For the Cure

100g fine sea salt

2 tsp cracked black pepper

2 tsp soft dark brown sugar

1 tbsp garlic powder

8 juniper berries, ground

3 bay leaves, ground

1 tsp mixed spice

2 tsp ground coriander

For the Rub

4 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper

2 tbsp coarsely ground coriander seeds

1 tbsp garlic granules

½ tsp mixed spice

First make the cure. In a small bowl, thoroughly combine the cure ingredients. Coat the duck breasts entirely with cure and place in a large ziplock bag. Place in the coldest part of the refrigerator and cure for 48 hours, flipping the bag twice a day.

Place the duck breasts in a large container and fill with water. Allow to soak for 1 hour. Drain and pat them dry with kitchen towel.

Next, combine the ingredients for the rub in a small bowl.Coat the duck breasts entirely with the rub.

Fire up your smoker or grill to 110°C/225°F. Add chunks of cherry wood (or other fruit wood). When the wood is ignited and starts to smoke, put in the duck breasts, skin side down. Smoke for 1 hour, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 74°C/165°F when inserted into the centre of the breasts. (We cooked this on a gas barbecue for a shorter time (see below) and it was still delicious)

Remove from the smoker/barbecue and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

We prefer to wrap the duck breasts in cling film for at least 24 hours before we eat them, giving the flavours a chance to settle. If you want to reheat the duckstrami, we find that steaming it using a bamboo steamer is best. This warms the pastrami gently without direct heat which could cause it to dry out. Any meat you’re not using can be frozen for up to 3 months, or will keep for up to 1 week in the fridge. It’s a really versatile meat, and not as gamey as regular duck.

What to drink: This is unlikely to be the only dish you're serving - we had an array of other dishes including salads, pickles and ketchups so look to a full-flavoured red to cope with them all. Given the rub I'd favour a good cru Beaujolais like a Morgon rather than the usual pinot noir but a bright fruity syrah or syrah/grenache/mourvedre (GSM) blend would work well too. Or a amber ale.

From The Hang Fire Cookbook: Recipes and Adventures in American BBQ by Samantha Evans & Shauna Guinn (Quadrille, £20) Photography © Paul Winch-Furness

Cherry, herb and freekeh tabule

You might not think of putting cherries in a salad but it can work wonderfully well as Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich of Honey & Co demonstrate in this clever twist on a tabbouleh from their most recent book Honey & Co: At Home.

You can buy freekeh from their deli in Warren Street, Honey & Spice or from specialist middle eastern shops.

Cherry, herb and freekeh tabule

Throughout the Middle East, freekeh is prepared in the spring.The wheat is picked while the sheaves are still green and the wheat kernels are still soft. The crops are harvested and arranged in piles to dry, and then are carefully set on fire to burn away the chaff and straw. The moisture in the wheat kernels prevents them from burning; they just take on a very subtle smokiness. Once cooled, the wheat is rubbed by hand (hence the name: farik means rubbed in Arabic), then dried and stored for use throughout the year.

Makes enough salad for a party or for 8–10 as part of a spread

For the freekeh

250g/9oz/12⁄3cups dried freekeh

2 celery sticks

1 carrot, peeled and halved lengthways

1 bayleaf

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

For the salad

juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 small bunch of parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped

1 small bunch of tarragon, leaves picked and roughly chopped

1 small bunch of mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped

60g/2 1⁄4oz/1⁄2 cup roasted pistachios, chopped

60g/2 1⁄4oz/scant 1⁄2 cup roasted almonds, chopped

300g/10 1⁄2oz/2 cups cherries, pitted and quartered

1 celery heart, stalks finely chopped

1 tsp seasalt

3 tbsp olive oil

Rinse the freekeh under cold water, then place in a large pan and cover with 1litre/1 3⁄4 pints/4 1⁄3 cups of fresh water. Add the celery, carrot and bay leaf, and bring to the boil over a high heat. Remove any foam that comes to the top and reduce the heat to medium. Add the olive oil and salt, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the freekeh is just al dente. The timing may vary as there are different grades of grain.

Drain the freekeh and use tongs or a fork to remove the vegetables and bay leaf. Taste to see if you need to add a little more olive oil and salt. Best to do this when the freekeh is hot, as it will absorb the flavours better.

Transfer to a serving bowl and allow to cool before mixing in all the salad ingredients. Toss with a light hand to combine, and taste for seasoning again before serving.

What to drink: I imagine most likely be having this as part of a bigger spread. If it accompanies grilled meat I'd go for a light red like a cinsault or mencia. If it's part of a veggie feast - and at this time of year - I'd pick a dry rosé.

Recipe from Honey & Co at home: Recipes from our Middle Eastern kitchen by Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich (£26, Pavilion). Photography by Patricia Niven.

Spiced Paneer, Spinach and Pea Grain Bowl with Mint Yoghurt Sauce

The big trend for cookbooks this year is vegetarian food and no-one is better able to hold your hand and give you inspiration than my pal Elly Pear. This delicious weekday recipe, which can be rustled up in 20 minutes, comes from her new book Green.

Elly writes: The spicy cubes of fried paneer cheese are strong competition, but I reckon it’s actually the sauce that is the star of this show. Inspired by Indian restaurant yoghurt sauce (perfect for dipping shards of poppadum into while you neck a cold beer and deliberate over what to order), it was one of the most popular things I’d made in ages when I first served it up. Everyone loved it. I was then tempted to put it on everything, of course. For a real feast, this dish goes particularly well with Cauliflower and Spinach Pakoras (also in the book)

Serves 4

2 tbsp coconut oil (coconut is best for flavour, but any oil is fine)

2 x 225g packs of paneer, cut into 2cm cubes

1 garlic clove, peeled and grated or crushed

2cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and grated or crushed

1 tsp cumin seeds

2–4 tbsp tandoori curry paste (according to taste)

250g frozen peas, defrosted

4 tbsp boiling water

2 x 220g pouches of mixed rice and grains (I use brown rice and mixed grains)

130g baby leaf spinach

Lemon wedges, to serve

Red chilli slices, to serve

Naan bread, to serve

For the yoghurt sauce

250g Greek-style yoghurt or plain coconut yoghurt

1 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp lemon juice

3 tsp mint sauce

1 tsp caster sugar (or to taste)

2 heaped tbsp finely chopped

fresh coriander

½ tsp flaked sea salt

Heat the coconut oil in a large frying pan over a medium–high heat. Add the paneer cubes to the pan and fry until golden, in batches if necessary. Allow the paneer to form a crust on each side of the cubes before turning them over.

This takes about 10 minutes, but it stops the paneer from breaking up and also adds a lot of important flavour and texture. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Lower the heat to medium–low then gently fry the garlic, ginger and cumin seeds for 1 minute. Return the paneer to the pan, add the curry paste, stir and fry for 1 minute over a medium heat. Add the peas along with 4 tablespoons of boiling water and stir everything together.

If you have a microwave, you can speed things up a little by warming the pouches of rice and mixed grains according to the packet instructions. If you don’t have a microwave, never fear. (Neither do I!) Simply add the rice and grains to the pan, separating them with your fingers to break up any clumps as they tumble in.

Add the spinach to the pan, toss it all together, then cover with a lid and cook for 2–3 minutes until the spinach has wilted and everything is piping hot. Meanwhile, make the mint yoghurt sauce. Place the yoghurt in a small bowl and stir in all the other ingredients.

Divide the rice and grains mixture between 4 bowls. Serve with lemon wedges, red chilli slices and naan bread, alongside the bowl of mint yoghurt sauce.

What to drink: Elly mentions a cold beer in her introduction which sounds spot on. A fruity rosé would also be good.

Green by Elly Pear (Curshen) is published by Ebury Press (£22.00). Photo credit Martin Poole.

Prawn, lime, peanut and herb rice noodles

If you've always thought cooking for yourself is a bit dispiriting buy Signe Johansen's book Solo which is full of delicious and inspiring recipes like this zingy pad thai-ish dish of prawn noodles.

Signe writes: This is a super dish to rustle up when you’re tired and hungry - it takes just minutes to prepare and can be eaten either hot or at room temperature. An ice-cold beer alongside wouldn’t go amiss, but a glass of green or jasmine tea also makes an excellent accompaniment.

WARNING: this recipe includes peanuts

Serves 1 (generously. It would easily stretch to two FB)

100g thick or thin rice noodles

vegetable or sunflower oil, for frying

150g raw shelled prawns (or defrosted frozen ones)

1–2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 green chilli, finely chopped

1 spring onion, thinly sliced

small bunch of mint and/or coriander, roughly chopped

1 small carrot, coarsely grated or cut into ribbons with a vegetable peeler

small handful of salted peanuts, roughly crushed

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

lime wedge, to serve (optional)

For the sauce

grated zest and juice of 2 unwaxed limes

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp soft light brown sugar or palm sugar

1 red chilli, finely diced

1 garlic clove, finely grated

Combine the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl.

Cook the rice noodles according to the packet instructions until al dente, drain,

toss them in the sauce and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a skillet or frying pan over a medium heat, add the prawns and fry for a few minutes until golden-pink and opaque – remove them from the pan as soon as they’re done so they don’t become tough. Add the garlic, chilli and spring onion to the same pan once you’ve removed the prawns and fry gently for a couple of minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and return the prawns to the pan so all the flavours blend.

Serve the noodles in a shallow pasta bowl or on a dinner plate and scatter over the prawns, herbs, carrot and crushed peanuts. Season to taste and add a lime wedge, if you wish.

Variation: Feel free to add other vegetables such as chopped pepper, broccoli or beansprouts (raw or cooked). I sometimes like to add edamame beans, broad beans and grated courgette, too.

What to drink: I had a bottle of Japanese koshu wine open which went perfectly but a dry riesling or grüner veltliner would also be delicious

Extracted from Solo by Signe Johansen published by Bluebird Books at £16.99. Photograph © Patricia Niven.