Duck breasts with damson sauce

Tart fruit is well-known as an accompaniment for duck.  The sharpness of fruit offsets the richness of the duck.

Preparation Time: 25 Mins

Cooking Time: 45 Mins

Total Time: 70 Mins

Ingredients

For 6 servings…

1 tbs               Olive oil     

30 gms            Butter       

4                    Duck breasts           

                     Pepper      

                     Salt          

For the sauce

1                    Shallot  - chopped finely         

10 cl               Port          

230 gms           Damsons    

10 cl               Stock        

1 tsp               Arrowroot  

30 gms            Butter       

                     Pepper      

                     Salt          

To garnish

1 bunch            Watercress

Method

Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan.  Season the duck breasts with salt and pepper and fry them skin-side down over a brisk heat for about 5 minutes until they are thoroughly browned.  Turn them and brown the other side, allowing 8 minutes total cooking for rare meat.  Remove the breasts and keep them warm.

To make the sauce, summer the shallot in a tablespoon of port until it is soft.  Add the damsons to the pan and cook gently until they are soft.  Take off the heat and remove the stones.  One way of doing this is to use a flat slotted spoon or skimmer to lift up some of the cooked damsons and then to use a teaspoon to pick out the stones.  Keep repeating until there are definitely or probably not stones remaining.

Add the remaining port (less 2 tbs) and the stock to the damsons.  Boil steadily until the volume has reduced to about half.

Mix the arrowroot with the last of the port and add this to the sauce.  Whilst stirring, cook until the sauce thickens up.  Then stir in the butter in small knobs.  Season to taste.  Keep warm.

Cut each breast into 4-5 thin diagonal slices and arrange them in a fan on individual plates.  Spoon over the sauce and decorate each plate with watercress.

Wine recommendations

A red wine - ideally a Burgundy.

Conventional

     Burgundy rouge

Interesting

     Hautes Côtes de Beaune

     Maranges

Special

     Nuits-Saint-Georges

     Pommard