After the success of my Duck, Bacon & Onion casserole a couple of weeks back, and now wanting something lower in amines and salicylates, and with even more tender meat, I modified the recipe and came up with this. The meat was fall-apart tender, and the taste was good!

Ingredients:
6-7 duck breasts
3 heaped (but not piled) TBSP each of oat flour and buckwheat flour (or 6 of one or the other)
Salt
25g butter or duck fat
250g smoked bacon, chopped (optional) (high amines)
1 white leek stem, chopped
300g pumpkin, diced (low salicylates)
600ml chicken stock (fresh, homemade by boiling chicken carcass for 2 hours, otherwise high amines)
Small handful fresh parsley, chopped

Method:
1) Place duck breasts in a pot, cover with water, and bring to the boil then simmer until cooked through, about 15 mins. Lift pieces out with tongs and place on a plate to cool down and dry off.
2) Pat chicken breasts dry, then slice into 1cm thick slices, place in a bowl with the oat flour and toss to coat. 
3) Melt butter in frying pan, and fry the pieces until browned all over, then transfer to casserole dish.
4) Add bacon, leek and pumpkin to pan and fry for  5 minutes, then transfer to casserole dish with a slotted spoon
5) Stir remaining flour into pan juices and cook one minute. Remove from the heat and whisk in stock, adding slowly at first and whisking until smooth. Place back on heat, bring to the boil, and simmer, stirring, until thickened - about 2-3 minutes. Add parsley and stir into sauce. Pour over the duck, bacon, leek and pumpkin in the casserole dish.
6) Cover and cook 170C  for 1 1/2 hours, stirring a couple of times during cooking.
Serves 5-6
Serving suggestion: serve with Cauliflower Mash and green beans

This recipe would be nice with chicken too. The Phillipino guys my husband works with told him that duck will taste better and be more tender if it's boiled first, before other stages of cooking. He mentioned this to me without any further details, so I guessed. This recipe turned out really well, using 7 duck breasts from our own ducks which we slaughtered and froze a wee while ago. The meat was much more tender done this way, than the duck I did previously without pre-boiling.

Ingredients:
8 portions of duck - either a whole duck cut up, or breasts or other parts of your choice.
1/2 cup rice flour
Salt
25g butter or duck fat
250g smoked bacon, chopped
250g mushrooms, wiped and halved
250g baby onions, peeled
600ml chicken stock
1 tsp dried herbs (I used chives, thyme would be good too), or a few sprigs of fresh thyme, left whole.

Method:
1) Place duck portions in a pot, cover with water, and bring to the boil then simmer until cooked through, about 10 mins for breasts. Lift pieces out with tongs and place on a plate to cool down and dry off.
2) Pat chicken portions dry, place in a bowl with half of the flour and toss to coat. Optional: fry the pieces in the frying pan first until browned all over, then transfer to casserole dish before frying bacon etc as follows...
3) Melt butter or fat in a frying pan, cook bacon, mushroom and onions for 5 minutes, then transfer to casserole dish with a slotted spoon
4) Stir remaining flour into pan juices and cook one minute. Remove from the heat and whisk in stock, adding slowly at first and whisking until smooth. Place back on heat, bring to the boil, and simmer, stirring, until thickened - about 2-3 minutes. If using dried herbs, stir into sauce. Pour over the duck, bacon, onions and mushrooms in the casserole dish.
5) If using fresh thyme sprigs, add to the casserole dish. Cover and cook 180C (350F) for one hour. Remove thyme sprigs.  

This basic casserole or stew recipe is a modified version of the one I've used for the past 26 years. It can be made with any meat, from beef or lamb to chicken, rabbit, deer, duck or other game. It can be cooked on the stove, in the oven, or in a slow cooker, and most of the ingredients can be varied to suit. Once you understand the method and basic ingredients, the rest is up to you!

Basic Ingredients:
1 kg of meat - use anything you like - excellent for cheap cuts of stewing meat - diced
2 onions, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed and finely diced
Vegetables - 2-3 sliced or diced carrots and 2-3 stalks diced celery, or other
1 tsp dried rosemary or 1 TBSP fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
2 tsp soy sauce (optional)
1 jar or 400g can of diced tomatoes
300 ml home made stock or water
Rice or corn flour to thicken

Method:
Oven - place all ingredients except in large oven-proof casserole dish with a well-fitting lid. Don't worry if it seems like there isn't a lot of liquid - as the casserole begins to cook, more fluid will come from the meat and veges. Bake at 180C (350F) for 1.5-2 hours, stirring once or twice during cooking.
Stove-top - (least recommended) - heat a little oil in a pot, add garlic and onions and cook until softened. Add meat and brown, then add remaining ingredients except flour. Cover and simmer for 1 - 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more liquid if needed.
Slow cooker - place all ingredients except flour in slow cooker and cook on low all day, or high for 5-6 hours
ALL: near the end of cooking, mix approx. 3 TBSP flour with enough water to make a runny mix, and stir into casserole. Cook a little longer to thicken.

Variations:
* If you don't have any stock available, add 2-3 TBSP tomato paste for extra flavour
* If using a gamey meat such as venison, wild pork or duck, add 2 TBSP vinegar to the mix - this tenderises the meat and removes the gamey flavour but isn't noticeable in the finished casserole
* Chunks of potato or kumera may also be added. The potato soaks up stock and tastes great.
* Vary herbs and seasonings to suit
* Use beef stock with red meats, and chickens stock with whiter meats