Duck breast with cherry hoisin sauce, pommes purée and charred broccoli
A trio of classical techniques including rendering duck fat, perfectly cooking duck breasts, making a pommes purée and a pan sauce with cherries, hoisin and balsamic vinegar. The dish is sweet, aromatic and rich – grilled broccoli offsets the richness by adding a slight bitterness, giving the dish a satisfying and rounded flavour.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 4 duck breasts, patted dry and skin scored in a criss-cross pattern
- 300g of tenderstem broccoli
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- olive oil, for cooking
POMMES PURÉE
- 1kg potatoes, peeled and cut into even chunks
- 150ml of whole milk
- 100ml of double cream
- 125g of salted butter, cold, chopped into cubes
CHERRY HOISIN SAUCE
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 1 tsp ginger, finely grated
- 75ml of red wine vinegar
- 200g of cherries, pitted and chopped
- 3 tbsp of hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp honey
Method
For the pommes purée, place the potatoes in a saucepan of cold, salted water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 18-20 minutes until tender. Drain the potatoes thoroughly and let them steam dry
- 1kg potatoes, peeled and cut into even chunks
Meanwhile, gently warm the milk and cream in a small saucepan until steaming but not boiling
- 150ml of whole milk
- 100ml of double cream
Mash the potatoes until smooth, or ideally push them through a sieve one at a time. Beat in the chopped butter a little at a time with a spatula, until fully emulsified into the potato. Finally, add the warm milk and cream mixture until silky and smooth. Taste and season with salt if needed
- 125g of salted butter, cold, chopped into cubes
Season the duck breasts with salt and pepper and place skin-side down in a cold, dry frying pan. Place on a medium heat and cook slowly for 10-12 minutes to allow the fat to render out gradually and for the skin to become golden and crisp. Turn the duck over and cook for a further 4 minutes. Rest the duck for 10 minutes loosely covered on a tray, leaving the fat behind in the pan
- 4 duck breasts, pat dry and skin scored in a criss-cross pattern
Preheat the grill to high
Stir the shallots, garlic and ginger to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Add the red wine vinegar and let it reduce by half
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 1 tsp ginger, finely grated
- 75ml of red wine vinegar
Whilst the sauce is simmering, rub the broccoli with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a baking tray and grill until charred, then finish with a squeeze of lemon. Slice the duck breast
- 300g of tenderstem broccoli
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- olive oil, for cooking
To serve, plate up the pommes purée, add the duck breast slices alongside. Spoon the cherry hoisin sauce over the duck and arrange the broccoli in the middle
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