This is a recipe by Jodok Dietrich, Austrian star chef at the Innauer in Dornbirn, awarded with 2 Gault Millau chef’s hats. He prepared this dish for the guests of pop-up restaurant Betonküche in Vienna. I personally love the combination of savory flavors with fruit, and creamy purées will always be high on my list of favorites anyway. Try it, it’s a great dish for the autumn season when the wind whistles round the house and one is craving for food that warms heart and soul.

Ingredients (serves 4):

 

Celery purée:

200g celery root

50g butter

1 small onion

100ml water

20ml white wine

100ml cream

Spices: salt, ground nutmeg, sugar, thyme, bay leaf

 

Brown bread crumbles:

4 slices of brown bread

50g chopped walnuts

20gr flax seed

25gr brown sugar

a pinch of Fleur de Sel

40gr butter

 

Braised duck legs:

2 duck legs

1 carrot

2 onions

2 cloves of garlic

250ml red wine

250ml beef stock

2 teaspoons of tomato purée

spices: thyme, grated lemon peel

 

Preserved pear:

1 pear

125ml white wine

1 clove

1 star anise

50gr sugar

125ml pear juice

 

Some chervil for decoration

 

Preparation – Celery Purée:

1. Peel the celery root and cut into cubes
2. Heat the butter in a sauteuse or pan and fry the onions until soft. Add the celery cubes and immediately season with salt and some sugar
3. Douse with the wine, add water, cream and the spices. Let simmer for around 30 minutes
4. Pour off the remaining liquid, take off the thyme and the bay leaf and finely mash the celery in a food processor. Season to taste and put aside

 

Preparation – Brown bread crumbles:

1. Slowly toast the bread slices in the oven until they get golden-brown
2. Chop the bread, mix with the other ingredients and finally with browned butter

 

Preparation – Raised duck legs:

1. Season the meat with salt and pepper and shortly sear them in a really hot pan until they get brown
2. Place the meat in a roaster or casserole, add the chopped onion and the carrots and fry for a moment
3. Heat the oven to 140°C. Mix the tomato purée, the red wine, the beef stock and the spices and pour over the duck legs. Cover and let simmer in the oven for about 2 hours
4. Solve the meat from the bones, strain the stock through a sieve and bring to the boil. Thicken the sauce a bit if you want, season to taste and place the meat in the sauce

 

Preparation – Preserved pear

1. Slice the pear lengthwise into half, remove the core and cut into slices
2. Caramelize the sugar in a pan, add the wine, the pear juice, clove and star anise and let simmer for around 15 minutes.
3. Add the pears and leave them for about 5 minutes

 

Arrange the celery purée on plates, spread the brown bread crumbles over it and place the meat on top. Decorate with the pears and some sprigs of chervil and serve.