Duck Breast Recipe with Beetroot Purée

Adam Simmonds' delightful duck breast recipe is served on a bed of beetroot purée with an array of roasted autumn vegetables – the perfect dinner party dish. Blending the purée in the Vitamix gives it an incredibly silky texture, allowing the vibrant colour to shine through.

Duck breast with root vegetables

2 large duck breasts, skin scored
8 baby beetroots, 4 pink and 4 yellow
2 carrots, cut into large batons
1 swede, peeled and cut into large batons
100g of butter
1 garlic clove, bashed
4 sprigs of thyme
balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper

Beetroot purée

1 large beetroot
olive oil
salt, to taste
sugar, to taste

To garnish

red vein sorrel leaves
thyme leaves, picked

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Vitamix Pro750 fitted with 2.0l low profile container

To begin, make the beetroot purée. Add the beetroot to a deep pan of water and simmer until tender. Alternatively, you can roast it with a dash of olive oil

1 large beetroot

Peel the beetroot whilst still warm and roughly chop. Place in the Vitamix container with a splash of oil, salt and sugar and select the purée setting. Press Start and allow to blend. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary and transfer to a small pan, ready to re-heat for serving

salt, to taste
olive oil
sugar, to taste

Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5

Now prepare the remaining vegetables. Cut the carrot and swede to similar-sized pieces as the baby beetroots as they all have a similar cooking rate. Half the baby beetroots if they're a little big

1 swede, peeled and cut into large batons
8 baby beetroots, 4 pink and 4 yellow
2 carrots, cut into large batons

Add the butter to a large ovenproof frying pan over a high heat. Once foaming, add the garlic and thyme, allow to pop for 5 seconds then add the vegetables

4 sprigs of thyme
100g of butter
1 garlic clove, bashed

Season well, toss to coat and place into the oven for 30–40 minutes until golden and tender

pepper
salt

Remove from the oven, drain off any excess butter and add a small dash of balsamic to the pan. Toss to glaze the vegetables

balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 3

When ready to cook the duck breasts, season the skin and place skin-side down in a dry ovenproof frying pan over a low-medium heat. Render the skin down until golden and crisp, then turn the breasts over and place the pan in the oven for 6–10 minutes. Allow to rest in a warm place for 10 minutes before carving

2 large duck breasts, skin scored

While the duck is resting, gently reheat the purée

To assemble the dish, spoon the purée onto plates, then arrange the vegetables and duck breast on top. Garnish with red vein sorrel and fresh thyme leaves

thyme leaves, picked
red vein sorrel leaves

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Adam Simmonds

Beneath the surface of Adam Simmond’s dishes is highly original, thoughtful cooking.

Duck breast with root vegetables and beetroot purée

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