Gluten-free: Pan-fried duck breast with cherry ginger sauce with parsnip mash and Brussel Sprouts
Serves: 4
Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
4 duck breast fillets, with skin on
4 parsnips, peeled and cored
250g sprouts, halved
4 tbsp rapeseed oil
25g butter
1 tsp horseradish
50g chestnuts
White pepper
Sea salt
For the cherry sauce:
400g cherries, pip removed
4 tbsp. amaretto
15g caster sugar (or coconut sugar)
100 ml water
1 star anise
½ tsp. ginger, finely grated
1 sprig rosemary
Sea salt
Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 425°F, gas mark 7, 220°C (200°C fan-assisted).
2. To make the sauce, remove the pip from the cherries. Place the cherries in a bowl and soak with the amaretto, water, star anise, mix it all together and leave it for about 4 minutes so it infuses the cherries.
3. Finely grate the ginger into the bowl with the cherries, pour into a small saucepan and cook over a medium heat. When it starts bubbling, add the sugar and season with salt and a sprig of rosemary. Cook for about 20 minutes, the cherries should be soft and the sauce reduced.
4. Peel and cut around the core of the parsnips, discarding the core and place on a pre-lined baking tray with the sprouts on the other half of the tray, drizzle 3 tbsp. of rapeseed oil over the vegetables, sprinkle with salt and bake for 25 minutes in the oven.
5. When cooked take the parsnips and sprouts out of the oven, leave the sprouts on the tray and place the parsnips in a food processor and process until smooth, add in the butter, horseradish, white pepper and sea salt and process until combined.
6. Wash and pat the duck dry with kitchen towel, it has to be completely dry in order for the skin to be able to crisp up. Take a non-stick frying pan and brush 1 tbsp. of rapeseed oil over the pan. Add the duck breast to a cold pan, skin side down and push slightly on the duck so it makes a sizzling sound, when it heats up.
7. The skin needs to be golden and crispy, this should take around 8 minutes, keep checking to make sure it’s not overdone. Once the skin side is done, flip it over so the skin side is up, to seal the rest of the duck for 1 minute. Take the duck out of the frying pan and leave to rest on a plate with kitchen towel, leave the liquid from the duck in the frying pan and add a sprig of rosemary to the pan.
8. Place the duck skin side up back in the frying pan and then place in the preheated oven 5 minutes. Take the duck out of the oven and let it rest for a further 5 minutes to allow it to cook out of the oven.
9. Add the chestnuts to the sprouts, mix together and put back in the oven for 5 minutes.
10. Once the duck has rested, cut on the diagonal into 3 or 4 strips, and plate with the parsnip mash, sprouts and chestnuts, served with the cherry and ginger sauce.
Photo by David Munns. More information head to myrelationshipwithfood.com and The Groovy Food Company.