Duck Breast with White Cherry Brandy Sauce and Rosemary
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott/Not Quite Nigella
Preparation time: 10 minutes (plus overnight resting time if you have it)
Cooking time: 10-18 minutes
Serves 4
- 4 duck breasts (about 200g/7ozs. each), skin scored in a diamond pattern (but don't cut all the way through)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 golden eschallots, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely diced
- 300g/10.6ozs white cherries, pitted
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup brandy
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 8 Dutch cream potatoes
- 1/3 cup duck fat
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 220C/440F and line two baking trays with parchment. If you have time beforehand, wash and dry the duck breasts well, especially the skin, patting it dry with paper towels and then leave uncovered in the fridge skin side up overnight.
Step 2 - Wash the potatoes well (I use a vegetable scrubber but leave the skin on). Cut little indents a few mimimetres apart from each other but not cutting down to the bottom of the potato. Melt the duck fat and place on the baking tray and brush a generous amount of duck fat on the outside of the potatoes. Roast for 30 minutes, then turn over and brush again and roast for another 30 minutes. These were large potatoes so I roasted them for a total of 1 hour 25 minutes.
Step 3 - When your potatoes have about 30 minutes to go, heat a frypan without oil on high heat. You can save the duck fat for later. Season the duck breast with salt and pepper. Place the duck salted skin side down and sear for 3-4 minutes. Then place on the other prepared tray and put in the oven but knock down the heat to 200C/400F and roast for the following times depending on how done you want your duck (rare=10 minutes, medium=15 minutes and well done=18 minutes). The potatoes will be fine on this temperature.
Step 4 - Make the white cherry sauce. You can place it in the saucepan that you used to cook the duck (just drain of the duck fat first as there is quite a lot). Add the butter and oil and then saute the eschallots and garlic for a few minutes until soft. Add the cherries, chicken stock and brandy and simmer for 10 minutes until the cherries become soft.
Step 5 - When the duck is ready, rest for 10 minutes under a foil tent. Season the potatoes and then serve the duck with the cherry sauce.