Prep 5 minutes | 25 minutes cooking time | Serves 2
Equipment:
- A small saucepan
- A frying pan
- Chopping board
- Knife
- Small baking tray
- A bowl
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp of vegetable oil
- 2 duck breasts
- 2 apricots, sliced into bite-sized pieces
- 2 pears (any hard variety) sliced into bite-sized pieces
- 4-6 baby courgettes, sliced into bite-sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon of finely chopped chives for garnish
- 2 sprigs of mint leaves plucked for garnish
- 2 pinches of salt
Sauce Ingredients:
- Juice of 4 clementines, strained
- 4 minced garlic cloves
- 2 minced shallots or 1 minced red onion
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp honey or sugar
- 2 pinches of salt
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 190C fanbake. Lightly score the skin of the duck breasts and season with a good pinch of salt on both sides.
- Heat a pan over a high-medium heat with the vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, sear the duck breasts skin side down until they are crispy and golden. This should take about 4-5 minutes. Flip over the breasts cook the other side for another 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the duck breasts from the frypan, place on your baking tray and transfer to the pre-heated oven to cook for 10-12 minutes.
- It’s time to prepare your sauce while your duck completes cooking and resting. Sauté your garlic and shallots (or red onion) on a low-medium heat in your saucepan until they become translucent and aromatic (about 5-8 minutes) being careful not to burn.
- Add the strained clementine juice, followed by the soy sauce, sesame oil, honey (or sugar) and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine and let the sauce simmer for a few minutes until it starts to thicken.
- Finally, add the sliced apricots, pears and baby courgettes to your simmering sauce. Cook for a few minutes until they just start to soften, but still retain their texture (you don’t want mushy vegetables)
- Once your duck is cooked, remove from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes, so the juices all settle. Then slice.
- It’s time to plate up. Place the sliced duck breasts on a plate or a large bowl and liberally spoon the apricot, pear, courgette and clementine sauce over the duck.
- Garnish with finely chopped chives and mint to complete. Serve immediately to your very lucky dinner guest.
RECIPE FROM AGA FALCON
