A delicious main from MasterChef Ireland 2012
Ingredients
- 2 duck breasts
- 2 butternut squash
- honey
- onion seeds
- 2 cm root ginger
- 250 g clarified butter
- 2 large maris piper potatoes
- 5 sprigs of thyme
- 1 bulb of garlic
- 5 shallots
- table spoon of brandy
- 1 l chicken stock
- 1 l beef stock
- 0.5 l red wine
- 0.5 l port
- vegetable oil
- salt
- pepper
- paprika
Method
- Oven on at 200°C (Fan Oven.)
- Heat deep fat fryer to 350°C.
- Prepare the squash
- Put squash into boil
- Cut the fondant potatoes in the dessert mould
- Prepare the shallots and grate the ginger
- Prepare / season the duck breasts
- Remove the squash from boiling water
- Put clarified butter onto heat up. Medium heat
- Put vegetable oil onto heat. Hot heat
- Place potatoes in clarified butter five minutes each side
- Place duck skin down in oil with one sprig of thyme and garlic clove for three to five minutes.
- Turn fondant potatoes when coloured to one side.
- When coloured, place duck onto a preheated baking tray in the 200 degree oven for six minutes.
- Remove excess fat from duck pan.
- Deglaze pan with brandy.
- Add shallots and cook until fluid almost evaporated away.
- Add two sprigs of thyme
- Add red wine 500ml
- Add beef stock 500ml
- Add port 100ml and cook down.
- When fondant potatoes are coloured to both sides take off heat and add garlic cloves, unpeeled and 2 sprigs of thyme.
- After six minutes remove duck breasts from oven and leave to rest on a warm plate covered by a tea towel.
- Cut remaining squash using mandolin into disc shapes for deep frying.
- Take sauce off the heat when reduced down and will coat the back of a spoon.
- Strain using sieve into the small pot and retain.
- Add a tablespoon of oil to the small pan and cook onion seeds until they pop. Remove from pan dry on kitchen paper.
- Add clarified butter to small pot on a low heat until gently bubbling then add squash, seeds, ginger and one table spoon of honey. Slowly cook off until the squash is caramelized.
- Remove squash from heat and lift onto kitchen paper.
- Remove fondant potatoes from stock mixture and cover with kitchen paper to remove any grease.
- Cut sauce to heat until warm then a little clarified butter to add shine
- Place squash discs in hot oil and cook until crisp, ½ minutes.
Method
- Squash to be neatly stacked two one side of the plate.
- Duck breast to have ends cut off and be cut in two.
- Each part of the breast to sit on top of the squash with one of the squash discs sitting in between the duck breasts giving elevation.
- The other disc to sit at forty five degrees against the potato fondant.
- The sauce is to be served in an individual container to be poured by the judges.
