Now more than ever the question “What’s for dinner?” may be even more challenging. Most of us are cooking at home more than we ever have. I love to cook and even I find it a challenge. I read an article recently about having a few sauces on hand that can liven up a dish. Something you can make ahead and use a few different ways. While this sauce may not be what that author had in mind, I liked the concept.

I originally made this sauce for Boxing Day dinner (the day after Christmas). It’s a day we usually spend with family and friends in New York. This year it was just the two of us so we thought we’d try roasting a duck – something we’d never done. I procured a fresh duck from our favorite butcher, Worrell’s in Malvern, PA. Ed did some research on how best to cook it. We followed a multi-step recipe to ensure that all parts of the duck were appropriately cooked and not dried out. It was a fair amount of work. While the duck was good, we both agreed it wasn’t worth all of the work. We’re going to stick with duck breasts in the future. 

The sauce paired well with the duck but would also go well with a roast chicken or goose (we’ve never roasted a goose) or pork. If you’re feeling creative you could also spoon some atop a soft cheese such as brie or Camembert. It has a nice balance of sweet from the figs, sweet and sour from the clementines and a bit of heat from the red pepper flakes. Don’t forget to add the vinegar in the end as the little bit of additional acid ties it all together. 

Now is the time of year to make this sauce while clementines are in season.

Fig-Clementine Sauce

 

Fig-Clementine Sauce
Print
Recipe type: Sauce
Author:
Serves: 1-1/2 cups
Ingredients
  • 2 clementines, very thinly sliced crosswise (with peel) and halved, seeds removed
  • 6 ounces (~ 1 cup) black Mission figs, quartered
  • 1-1/2 cups cognac or brandy
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
  • Kosher salt
Instructions
  1. Place clementines, figs, cognac/brandy, sugar, mustard, red pepper flakes and bay leaves in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve sugar and cook until figs absorb some liquid, clementine peels are soft, and mixture is syrupy, about 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt.
  2. Let cool and remove bay leaves.
  3. Stir in vinegar and serve.
  4. Can be made 2 days in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving. Sauce keeps for two weeks, refrigerated.
Notes
* If you want this to resemble more of a relish (rather than sauce), once cooled, strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve. You can reserve some of the liquid to glaze the meat you’re serving.
Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe

 

Source:  Variation on recipe from Bon Appétit, December, 2016