Aglio Olio with black pepper smoked duck

Aglio Olio with black pepper smoked duck

Yesterday I cooked this and I was so surprised it turned out so tasty and declious despite I lack of much fresh ingredients. I thought, it tastes quite as good as what was served outside in restaurants, and interestingly, dearie remarked out loud the same thought which I didnt say out.



These are the staple ingredients! All available from NTUC.

As I said, I lack of fresh ingredients like garlic which is essential in making aglio olio.

Awwww.......but thankfully I found replacements in my fridge; as per the above picture. Hee.

Ingredients:

Duck Chef, ready-cooked black pepper smoked duck breast

Masterfoods, garlic powder

McCormick, pure ground black pepper

JJW, fried garlic with oil

Spaghetti

Salt

Chillipadi(1 piece for portions of 2)

Method:

1) Boil the spaghetti(2 person share) in water for 15minutes with some salt and little olive oil(if you like al dente style then cook it for 10-12minutes)

2) Remove the spaghetti from the boiling water and run it under the tap(cold water), sieve the water away and put it aside

3) Remove the ready-cooked black pepper smoked duck from it's packet(after leaving it outside for around 10mins after taking out from the freezer) and seared it on pan for few minutes on both sides, flipping it time to time.

4) Sauce/juice will ooze out from the duck. Remove the duck and place it aside to cool

5) (No need oil) Use the sauce to cook the pasta, stir-frying it together with 1 tbspoon of fried garlic(without the oil), some salt, black pepper, 1 tbspoon garlic powder and the little chillipadi(halved, removed the seeds with gloves) for few minutes.

6) Slice the smoked duck. If it's still hot, use tongs to hold it. It might be cold in the middle(as we seared it when it's frozen). Place the sliced smoked duck onto aluminium foil and airfry in Philips Airfryer at 200degrees for 3-4 minutes(If you dont have Philips Airfryer, just microwave it for 1min or so)

7) Serve pasta on plate, arranged sliced duck on pasta. Both served hot.

The above recipe is mild spicy, serves 2.

FAQ

1) Why sear the smoked duck when it's frozen, because cooking will definitely be uneven(cold in the middle)

Because I defrosted the duck before searing it before(for my smoked duck salad with mandarin oranges) and it yields almost no sauce/juice. I need the sauce to cook the pasta.

2) Can I sear the frozen duck for more than a few minutes so that the inside will be hot as well?

But if this way, the outer of the duck will definitely be overcooked and will be tough. So it's better to sear it on the outside(just to get it's juice) and then later airfry/microwave it when it's sliced, to get a better texture overall. Also to warm it up to serve it together with the pasta, as it would be chilled while we cook the pasta.

Alternatives:

Fresh garlic, sliced(maybe half a cup or lesser) can be used in place of the fried garlic and garlic powder. The latter 2 is good to store in your fridge as they will not go bad so fast like fresh garlic.

Oh yes, I've gotten my Philips air fryer! Have cooked using it and it was AWESOME. Will post recipes/pictures/review soon!