Pan-roasted breast of mallard with a samosa of braised leg, salt-baked swede, parsnip purée

  • medium
  • 4
  • 3 hours 35 minutes
Not yet rated

Robert Thompson's roast duck recipe brings out a plethora of rich, meaty flavours. Top tip: Mirepoix is a mix of chopped onion, celery and carrot. You can make the parsnip crisps yourself by very finely slicing the parsnip and deep frying in hot oil until crispy and well-coloured; alternatively you can buy them ready crisped. Mallards are widespread throughout the British Isles.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Mallard

Samosa pastry

  • 250g of pasta flour
  • white wine
  • 1 pinch of salt

Salt baked swede

For the parsnip purée

To plate

Equipment

  • Fine sieve
  • Deep fat fryer
  • Pasta machine
  • Blender

Method

1
For the mallard, preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4. Remove the legs and wings from the mallard and after seasoning the legs and wings lightly colour with the butter and oil in a hot pan
  • 1 mallard
  • 1 knob of butter
  • olive oil
2
Add the mirepoix, the sprigs of thyme, peppercorns, bay leaf and juniper berries, then continue to sauté the legs until lightly coloured, add the stock to the pan and bring to the boil. Cover the pan and put the same pan in the oven, heat through on a low heat until the meat is falling off the bone
3
Remove the legs and wings from the stock (reserve the liquid for making the sauce). Allow the legs to cool just enough to handle and then pick all meat from the bones
4
To make the samosa pastry, mix the pasta flour with a good pinch of salt in a bowl. Add white wine slowly until the flour comes together to make a firm dough. Knead until very smooth and then rest in the fridge
  • 250g of pasta flour
  • white wine
  • salt
5
For the salt baked swede, first preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4. Wash and dry the swede. Mix together the rock salt, egg whites and a small handful of picked thyme in a bowl
6
Brush the bottom of the baking tray with a layer of the salt mix and sit the swede on top. Carefully build the salt mix around the swede until the vegetable is completely covered from top to bottom
7
Bake for 1 ½ hours then remove and leave to cool slightly before cracking the crust open. Peel ready for serving and slice into wedges
8
To make the parsnip purée, simmer the chopped parsnip in milk until very soft. Once cooked, strain the parsnips and blend until smooth with a knob of butter and a little of the milk if needed - you should have a loose, very smooth consistency. Season with salt and pepper
9
For the samosa filling sweat the chopped shallot and garlic in butter until soft and mix with the leg meat and chopped thyme, season well. Add a little cooking juice to moisten the mix and roll out between two pieces of parchment paper to a thickness of 4mm
10
Refrigerate until firm. Reduce the rest of the cooking juice, finishing with a little butter, then strain through a fine sieve and check the seasoning, this will be the sauce used when to finish the dish
11
Roll the samosa pastry through the pasta machine and take down to setting 1. Cut the now chilled leg meat into small triangles and wrap in the pastry, sealing the edges well
12
For the mallard crown, preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas mark 5. Colour all sides of the bird in a pan with a little butter and oil then rest on its base, and roast for 6-10 minutes. Allow to rest before carving
13
To serve the dish, reheat the parsnip purée, swede and sauce. Sauté the girolles in a little olive oil and butter. Deep fry the samosas until golden and slice the mallard breast
14
Spread a little parsnip purée across the warmed plates and top with the salt baked swede, girolles and the mallard. Finish with the samosas, some sauce and parsnip crisps
First published in 2015

Robert Thompson's cooking is full of character and classical skill.

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