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| Roasted duck breast and fig butter |
This autumnal recipe is simple. The good quality of the fresh duck meat speaks for itself. I like to cook and specially eat the delectable Gressingham duck, which can be easily found at major supermarkets and butchers around the U.K. There seen to be the common misconception that duck is expensive and difficult to prepare. That’s not true; simple meals like this one can be ready to eat in less the 45 minutes in total. The fig butter can be prepared in advance, and it’s so delicious it might be eaten before you can cook the duck! It’s called fig butter, but there’s no butter involved in the process of cooking it.
A curious fact that many people do not know is that a skinless duck breast has fewer calories and under half the fat of a skinless chicken fillet (a skinless duck fillet has 92kcal and 1.3g of fat per 100g compared to a skinless chicken fillet that has 120kcal and 3.2g of fat per 100g). Next time you are in the supermarket show some love and buy a fresh duck meat to enjoy at home. Here is a recipe based on my recent travel to France region of Aveyron
Duck breast and fig butter on wet polenta
Serves: 2 people
Ingredients
Duck
2 duck breasts, cleaned
salt and pepper
fig butter ( makes about 1 pot , 200ml)
10 figs trimmed and halved
½ cup of honey
200ml of Pedro Ximénez or any other sweet liquor you fancy/have
1 split vanilla bean/
1 cinnamon stick
4 green cardamom pods
1 star anise
2 cloves
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| fig butter in the making |
Roasted duck breast
Method:
Fig butter
1) prep-heat oven at 150C
2) place the figs in one layer in an oven-proof dish and add all other ingredients
3) put the dish in the top oven for about 1.5 hours, until the figs are completely mush
4) fish out all the pods, seeds and sticks
5) mash the fig mixture well
6) it can be store in the fridge for one week
For the duck:
1) Pre-heat the oven at 200C (fan)
2) prepare the duck breast clean and score the skin diagonally
3) season the Gressingham duck breasts with salt and pepper
4) Place the duck in a hot skillet, without oil, with the skin side down cook until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Pour off the fat regularly and seal the skinless side for 30 seconds.
5) add a layer of the fig butter in between the skin and the meat
6) Place the skin side up on a rack in a roasting tin in the middle of a pre-heated oven. Rare – 10 minutes, Medium – 15 minutes, well done -18 minutes
7) in the meantime, cook the polenta according to package instructions.
8) remove the duck from the oven when desired doneness is achieved and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Reserve the duck aside covered.
9) Cook the vegetables and finish the polenta. Slice the duck breast
10) assemble the dish, by placing the wet polenta first and resting the sliced meat and adding more fig butter as necessary.
Enjoy!
For more simple ways to cook duck : Gressingham
Roasted duck breast and fig butter
I am a contributor to Great British Chefs blog and this recipe was specially written for them
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