Parmentier de Canard à la confiture de Figues (like a cottage pie but with duck and fig jam)

I looooooove this recipe! It's easy, quick and delicious ! you can't go wrong at all. Try it with friends too, they will be impressed :)

For 6 people

You will need : 

- 4-5 thighs of confit of duck (you can buy them in Waitrose, it is a bit pricey though, they are sold in a tin)
- 1 pot of fig jam
- 2,5 kg of potatoes (Maris Piper for example or any sort of potatoes suitable for mash)
- 4 fresh figs
- a bit of hot milk (optional)
- 25g of butter + a few tiny cubes
- enough breadcrumbs to cover the top of your dish
- a bit of nutmeg (optional)
- Black pepper and salt

- Take the thighs out of their tin, try to shake them a bit to get rid of of the duck fat and put them in a frying pan. Heat the pan very gently - you don't want to cook them (they are already cooked), you just want to liquify the fat to get rid of as much of it as you can.

- When you think enough fat has gone, take them out and place them on a plate and let them cool down.

- Preheat your oven to gas mark 6 (180°C)

- Meanwhile, in a big saucepan, bring to the boil some salted water (preferably use sea salt, but not too much!a little handful should be enough) and add your peeled potatoes (cut in half so they cook quicker). Once cooked (it takes about 20mins), drain them in a colander and wait a bit until the steam has evaporated.

- Put your potatoes in a big bowl and mash them with a potato masher. Add, little by little your 25gr of butter. If you think it's too much butter, you can use less, although a good mash needs some butter. If you want, you can add some hot milk too to the mash, it will smooth it. Add some black pepper and a bit of salt if necessary. Finish your mash by adding a tiny bit of nutmeg (optional), not too much because the nutmeg is very strong! (this is a typical way of making mash potato)

- Once your duck thighs are cooled down, use your hands to remove the meat from the bones and dispose of the skin. When you have all your meat, tear the meat into chunks (not too big, not too small).

- Cover the base of an oven dish with half of the mash potato then spread enough fig jam on top so it covers the mash. Cover this with your duck meat, and finally cover up with the rest of the mash potato. Spread more fig jam on top of the mash potato if you want (I do all the time and don't worry, it won't be too sweet) and cover with some breadcrumbs. I personally put a few cubes of butter on top of the mash so it doesn't dry out.

- Place your dish on the middle shelf of your oven and cook it for 20-25 mins (until coloured on top).

- Serve with a nice green salad and some fresh figs, gently pan-fried in butter.

Bon Appétit !