Rata pe varza / Duck on cabbage

Nu stiu cat de potrivita vi se parea reteta aceasta pentru Craciun dar va asigur ca este o alternativa in cazul in care v-ati plictisit de clasicele feluri de fripturi de porc. In plus, este exact perioada in care veti putea gasi cu destul de mare usurinta rata in magazine.
In ultima vreme am constatat ca in tara nostra avem tendinta ca folosim numai carne de porc si pui pentru a gati. Mi se pare destul de limitat si monoton acest tip de meniu. De aceea imi propun sa va propun si tipuri de preparate care sa contina altfel de carne.
Iata de ce ingrediente avem nevoie:

– 1 rata de 2-3 kg
– 2-3 kg de varza
– 6 linguri de ulei
– mix de piper boabe
– cimbru uscat
– seminte de marar
– ardei iute uscat (fulgi)
– sare
I don’t know how suitable you’ll find this recipe for Christmas but I assure you that it’s an good alternative if you are bored of the classic dishes of roast pork. In addition, it’s the exact time when you can easily find ducks in stores.
Recently I realized that in our country we tend to use only pork and chicken to cook. I find this type of menu quite limited and monotonous . Therefore I intend to propose and types of dishes that contain other types of meat.
This is what we’ll need:
– a duck of 2-3 kg
– 2-3 kg of cabbage
– 6 tablespoons of sunflower oil
– pepper mix
– dried thyme
– dill seeds
– dry chilli (flakes)
– salt
Pregatim o tava sau un vas cu peretii mai inalti. Daca aveti un vas cu peretii mai inalti decat ce se vede in fotografie folositi-l cu incredere. Cu ajutorul unei pensule ungem interiorul vasului cu 2 linguri de ulei.
Spalam rata si o curatam bine. Tamponam interiorul cu servetele abosorbante dupa care asezam rata in tava. Nu va faceti griji-chiar daca am pus numai 2 linguri de pielea ratei nu se va lipi de tava. Stim cu totii ca ratele au in general destul de multa grasime. Odata bagata rata in cuptor grasimea se va topi ramanand in tava.
Pentru inceput este bine sa o acoperim fie cu un capac, fie cu aluminiu. Cuptorul trebuie reglat la o temperatura medie, astfel incat carnea sa se patrunda cat mai bine.
Vom avea grija ca rata sa se rumeneasca pe toate partile motiv pentru care va trebui sa o intoarcem de cateva ori.
Prepare a tray or pot with taller walls. If you have a dish with taller walls than the ones you see in the picture use it with confidence. Using a brush we will grease the dish with 2 tablespoons of oil.
Clean and wash well the duck. Tampon the inside of the duck with absorbing napkins and then sit it in the tray. Do not worry-even if we put only 2 tablespoons of oil duck’s skin will not stick to the pan. We all know that ducks are generally quite fat. Once we’ll put the duck in the oven the fat will melt and it will remain in the pan.
First you should be a cover the duck with a lid or aluminum. The oven should be set to an average temperature so that meat to be tempered better.
We take care that the duck to be tempered on all sides which is why you have to roll it on each side several times.

Intre timp pregatim varza.
Vom folosi o cratita cu pereti inalti in care vom pune cele 4 linguri de ulei. Apoi taiem varza marunt si pisam piperul intr-un mojar. Nu folositi piper gata macinat deoarece nu va avea acelasi gust.
Cratita se pune pe foc pentru ca uleiul sa se incinga putin. Apoi adaugam treptat varza (in 4-5 reprize), cu pauze de 4-5 minute. De ce este nevoie sa facem acest lucru? E simplu. Astfel varza va apuca sa se caleasca si sa lase propriul suc si nu va fi necesar sa adaugam apa. Varza se va cali in putin ulei si propria-i zeama. Daca adaugam apa ea se va fierbe iar gustul nu va fi la fel.
In final adaugam cimbrul, sarea, ardeiul iute si semintele de marar.
Meanwhile, we’ll prepare the cabbage.
We will use a pot with tall walls in which we put the 4 tablespoons of oil. Then finely cut the cabbage and grind pepper in a mortar. Do not use ready ground pepper as it will not have the same taste.
Pan will be put on the stove so the oil to heat up a bit. Then gradually add the cabbage (in 4-5 rounds), with breaks of 4-5 minutes. Why do we need to do this? It’s simple. Thus cabbage will start to leave their juice and to temper so it won’t be necessary to add water. Cabbage should be tempered in a little bit of oil and it’s own juice. If you add water you’ll boil the cabbage and it will not taste the same.
Finally add the thyme, salt, chilli and dill seeds.

Scoatem rata din cuptor si o umplem cu varza calita. Apoi o asezam intr-un vas in care am pus un pat de varza calita (nu acelasi in care am rumenit-o). Adaugam aproximativ 400 ml de apa si invelim vasul cu aluminiu. Se da la cuptor timp de 2 ore la foc mic. Atentie – fiecare cuptor este diferit. Folositi instructiunile date de producator pentru acest tip de gatire. Este posibil ca rata sa se faca mult mai repede intr-un cuptor performant. Al meu este clasic 🙂
Inainte de a scoate rata este bine sa o lasati 10 minute fara aluminiu pentru ca pielea sa se rumeneasca frumos si sa devina crocanta.
Daca va intrebati ce am facut cu grasimea lasata de rata va pot spune decat ca eu nu am pastrat-o. Marea majoritate a celor care gatesc rata o folosesc pentru a rumeni cartofi. Sunt intr-adevar deliciosi dar nu si in cazul in care aveti colesterolul ridicat sau probleme cu greutatea 🙂
Serviti rata si varza caldute, alaturi de un pahar de vin negru.
Take the duck out of the oven and fill it with cabbage. Then sit the duck in a dish in which we put a bed of cabbage (not the same dish where we tempered the duck). Add about 400 ml of water and wrap the dish with aluminum. Cook for 2 hours on low heat. Note – each oven is different. Use the instructions given by the manufacturer for this type of cooking. The duck is likely to cook much faster in an improved and new oven. Mine is classic:)
Before taking the duck out of the oven is better to leave 10 minutes without aluminum so the skin to brown and become crispy.
If you’re wondering what I did with the fat left in the tray can only say that I didn’t kept it. Most of those who cook duck use the fat to fry potatoes. They are really delicious but not if you have high cholesterol or weight problems:)
Serve the duck and the cabbage warm, with a glass of black (red) wine.