Arroz de pato — Portuguese duck and rice casserole

Peel the vegetables. Quarter one onion and chop the other; halve the carrot lengthwise and chop the garlic. Put the duck legs, quartered onion, carrot, bay leaves and 100 g chouriço in a pot of about 5 l capacity. Refrigerate the remaining 50 g sausage for the top of the casserole.

Pour in 2 l cold water; it should cover the legs, so add a little more if needed. Add ½ tsp salt and the pepper. Bring to a boil, skim off the foam, then simmer very gently with the lid slightly ajar for 90–120 minutes. The meat should come away from the bones easily; cook longer if it still resists. Do not let it boil vigorously.

Lift out the duck, cooked onion, carrot and chouriço. Once the legs have cooled a little, remove the skin, bones and cartilage, then pull the meat into fairly large shreds with two forks. Check that no bone fragments remain. Chop the cooked vegetables and dice the sausage finely. Reserve all the meat, vegetables and sausage for the filling.

Strain the stock through a sieve and let stand for 5 minutes. Skim most of the fat from the surface, reserving 2 tbsp to fry the onion. Measure out 1 l stock: 900 ml for the rice and 100 ml for the filling; top up with water if there is not enough. The stock should be flavorful but not too salty. Cool any remaining stock quickly and freeze for another meal.

Preheat the oven to 200°C using conventional heat. Heat the reserved 2 tbsp duck fat in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the chopped raw onion and cook over medium-low heat for about 6 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for a minute, then stir in the rice and cook, stirring, for another minute to coat it with fat.

Pour in 900 ml hot stock. Taste and add the remaining salt if needed. Bring to a boil, cover and cook over low heat for about 12–15 minutes, until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid and is nearly tender but still slightly firm. If it is hard and the liquid has already gone, add a little hot water and cook a bit longer. Fluff with a fork; the rice should still be moist before baking.

Mix the duck, chopped cooked vegetables and chouriço with 100 ml stock. Spread half the rice in a ceramic baking dish about 30 × 22 cm and at least 5 cm deep. Spread all the filling evenly over it and cover with the remaining rice. Gently level the surface without packing it down firmly.

Thinly slice the remaining 50 g chouriço and arrange on top. Bake uncovered on the middle rack for about 15–20 minutes, until the rice is lightly browned, the sausage is lightly roasted and the dish is hot throughout. The center should stay tender and juicy. Let rest for 5 minutes, then spoon 6 portions straight from the dish and serve hot.