Dinner ideas

Red wine duck with Jerusalem artichoke puree

Rich duck cooked in wine and tomatoes makes for a perfect winter dish.
4
2H

Ingredients

Method

Chianti duck with Jerusalem artichoke puree

1.Preheat the oven to 170ºC. Score skin of duck breasts with a criss-cross pattern. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
2.Heat a large, ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat. Place duck skin-side down in hot frying pan and cook until skin is golden.
3.Remove breasts from pan and tip half the fat into a jar or bowl. Discard or save (see note).
4.In the remaining fat, saute the onion and garlic until soft. Add red wine and tomatoes and bring to the boil. Add duck to the pan, season well with salt and pepper, then put in oven for 40 minutes.
5.While the duck is cooking, prepare the puree. Place the artichokes in a medium-sized saucepan with milk, water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil.
6.Reduce heat and simmer until artichokes are tender. Drain artichokes from pot, reserving the cooking liquid. Return artichokes to empty pot and mash with the butter.
7.Gradually whisk in reserved cooking liquid until you reach the desired consistency. Season to taste. After 40 minutes, remove duck from oven. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
8.To serve, spoon puree onto warmed serving plates and pick duck meat from the breasts over the top of the puree. Spoon over a generous amount of red wine sauce. Garnish with Italian parsley and shaved Parmesan.
  • How to conserve your duck fat. Rendering the fat from the duck is really crucial because there’s nothing worse than fat floating to the top of a saucy dish! Cook the duck skin-side down on a medium heat and give it a good chance to render down. You’ll be left with more fat than you need, which is why, in the recipe, I call for half of it to be kept in a jar. Chill and use the rest later for roast potatoes. The artichokes, which the duck is served with, are great to try roasted. Simply scrub off any soil, halve and chuck in a roasting dish with Parmesan, olive oil and sea salt. Bake at 170ºC for about 15 minutes
Note

Related stories