Duck Confit Tortellini in Consommé of Forest Mushrooms
This is the quiet masterpiece that stops conversation at the table. Duck legs are cured for forty-eight hours, then confit slowly in their own fat until the meat falls from the bone like silk. That meat is chopped with foie gras and black truffle, wrapped in gossamer-thin pasta sheets, and served floating in a crystal-clear, profoundly savory consommé of wild porcini, chanterelle, and black trumpet mushrooms. A final shaving of raw black truffle over the bowl turns the dish into something bordering on reverence.
Serves 8 generous portions
Active time: 4 hours | Total time: 4 days plus 7-day infusion
Dosage: exactly 15 mg THC per portion (120 mg total in the entire dish)
Infusion (start 7–10 days ahead)
Decarboxylation
3.5 g cannabis flower testing 22 % THC
Grind medium-fine, spread evenly on parchment, place in cold oven set to 240 °F, bake exactly 40 minutes. Cool completely in turned-off oven with door cracked.
Infused duck fat (yields ≈ 1.2 kg containing exactly 120 mg usable THC)
1.5 kg rendered duck fat
3.5 g fully decarbed cannabis
1 tsp sunflower lecithin granules
Melt fat with lecithin in a large mason jar in a 200 °F water bath. Add decarbed cannabis. Hold at steady 185–190 °F for exactly 2 hours, swirling every 15 minutes. Strain hot through 90-micron filter then coffee filter. Cool completely. The fat will be pale gold with a hauntingly clean aroma.
Ingredients
For the duck confit
8 large duck legs
80 g kosher salt
12 g sugar
8 sprigs thyme
12 black peppercorns, crushed
8 juniper berries, crushed
6 bay leaves
6 cloves garlic, crushed
Zest of 2 oranges
The entire 1.2 kg infused duck fat
For the tortellini filling
All confit duck meat, picked and finely chopped
120 g foie gras terrine, diced and softened
30 g fresh black truffle, finely chopped
Fine sea salt and white pepper
For the pasta dough
400 g “00” flour
100 g semolina flour
9 large egg yolks
1 whole large egg
10–20 ml water as needed
For the mushroom consommé
1 kg fresh wild mushrooms (porcini, chanterelle, black trumpet)
2 kg chicken wings, roasted dark
200 g mirepoix
4 L cold water
Standard consommé raft (egg whites, lean ground chicken, etc.)
For finishing
Fresh black truffle (50 g) for shaving
Method
Cure the duck legs in the salt-sugar-herb mixture for 48 hours in the refrigerator, turning once. Rinse, pat dry, and submerge completely in the infused duck fat in a deep hotel pan. Cook at exactly 190 °F for 10–12 hours until fork-tender. Cool in the fat; store submerged for up to 2 weeks if desired.
Make pasta dough: mound flours, create well, add yolks and egg. Mix and knead until silky (≈10 minutes). Wrap and rest 1 hour. Roll to thinnest setting; cut 9 cm squares.
Mix chopped confit duck meat with softened foie gras and chopped truffle. Season carefully. Place 12–14 g filling in center of each square, brush edges with egg wash, fold into triangles, then shape into tortellini. Dry 30 minutes on semolina-dusted trays.
For consommé: caramelize mushrooms deeply in a dry pan, then combine with roasted wings, mirepoix, and water. Simmer gently 3 hours. Strain, chill, degrease. Clarify with standard raft until perfectly clear. Season delicately.
To serve, cook tortellini in simmering salted water for 2–3 minutes. Warm 8 deep bowls. Place 5–6 tortellini in each. Ladle piping-hot consommé over. Shave fresh black truffle generously across the surface.
15 mg THC per portion. A whisper of smoke, earth, and luxury in every spoonful.