Confession: This is the first time I've ever cooked duck. I've certainly eaten plenty of it in restaurants - it's usually what I order because I never cook it. But......I came across this recipe and decided to give the old quack quack a go.
The sauce is an absolute cracker and wouldn't be out of place on the Christmas table.
Really delicious!
Roast duck with cherry sauce
Serves 2
2 duck breasts, skin on
Sea salt
Olive oil to grease pan
Side dish of cous cous
3/4 cup dry cous cous
1/4 bunch of flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup pistachios
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons butter
Sauce
1 whole orange zested and juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup port
1/4 cup water
Approx 20 fresh cherries, pips removed (slice around the pip if you don't have a pip remover as they don't need to be whole)
Place all sauce ingredients in a saucepan on high heat. Bring to the boil for 1 minute then simmer for 15 minutes on a low heat, until cherries are soft. Set aside for 30 minutes and allow sauce to thicken.
Served with Cous cous and pistachios, parsley and lemon
Take 3/4 cup of dry cous cous in a bowl and add 3/4 cup boiling water. Cover for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop 1/4 bunch of flat leaf parsley and 1/4 cup unsalted pistachios. Take the remaining half a lemon and squeeze juice into the cous cous. Add 2 tablespoons butter and stir all ingredients together. Cover and set aside until duck is ready.
The duck
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
Taking a sharp knife score the duck fat on the breast 1cm apart. Take some sea salt and lightly
rub into the fat. Place duck skin side down in a HOT pan for 4-5 minutes until well browned. Turn over and cook for 1 minute then place on a rack or tray into the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes. The skin should be crispy, the duck meat cooked medium.
Now reheat sauce on a low heat until warm. Reheat cous cous in the microwave if necessary.
Put cous cous on a plate and place the duck breast on top, either sliced or whole. Pour sauce over the duck and serve immediately.
Enjoy!
