{"id":22676,"date":"2019-05-25T21:18:43","date_gmt":"2019-05-25T21:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/?p=22676"},"modified":"2019-05-25T21:18:43","modified_gmt":"2019-05-25T21:18:43","slug":"duck-lovage-roasted-squash-celery-radish-thyme-spinach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/?p=22676","title":{"rendered":"duck, lovage; roasted squash\/celery\/radish, thyme; spinach"},"content":{"rendered":"

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While the photograph above is my favorite image of this meal, this one may really describe it better:<\/p>\n

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On Monday afternoon, the same day I had picked up the swordfish belly that I prepared that night<\/a>, I had also bought one fresh duck breast. At the time I was thinking of it as a small ‘speculative’ investment: Because we had enjoyed a meal of meat only a few days before, it was unlikely that we we’d be eating more soon. I thought I’d freeze it until an occasion presented itself, but before I did, it was Tuesday, and the occasion had arrived.<\/p>\n

It was the cool weather, but mostly it was the vegetables.<\/p>\n

I had suddenly remembered that I had a couple of small yummy-type squash in the refrigerator, which, together with some luscious spinach I had bought the day before, almost demanded something like duck.<\/p>\n

Forgotten however,\u00a0since they had been there almost a month, was the just how<\/em>\u00a0small these kabocha squash actually were (they were the runts of the bucket, and the last 2 cleft in the farmer’s stall, which is pretty much why I had bought them), especially since they had become just a little desiccated over that time, and I still had to hollow out and remove the seeds and stringy pulp. I realized the inadequacy of their size only once I had begun preparing dinner, so necessity was the mother of inspiration. They had almost disappeared, but I still had sufficient warning of the problem, and I managed to find a small supporting cast:\u00a0I added a little celery and a few small very spicy radishes, roughly chopped, then continued, improvising a bit, with a recipe I would have used if it had been the squash alone that I was cooking.<\/p>\n

It was delicious, more than just a good complement to the duck and the spinach.<\/p>\n

The spinach cooked down fast, seemed to be trying to\u00a0disappear,\u00a0but I put a brake on it just before it did, and its sweetness made up for the smallness of its final portion.<\/p>\n

The duck itself was pretty small, but it’s a very intense, sturdy meat; it came with no surprises, presented absolutely no difficulties; it helps that I could almost do this recipe in my sleep; and it was superb, as always.<\/p>\n