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Fragrant Duck Breasts with Plum sauce and Basmati Risotto

Fragrant Duck Breasts with Plum sauce and Basmati Risotto

I was in Bury yesterday and they have an award winning market. I spotted a fresh Mallard for £2.99 so we revisited a recipe we created in February, with a few additions. It’s a while since we were all chefy in the kitchen because I’ve been away. This is a recipe well worth having a pop at if you happen to come across some Duck breasts.

The original recipe is here

Our improved version……

Ingredients:-
 
2 Duck Breasts ( I cut and scored these from the bird. The remainder will but be Tiggy fodder and we’ll have Duck fat for roast Potatoes and some outstanding Duck stock)
1 ½ tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Grated fresh Ginger
2 cloves of Garlic, grated
Oil to fry
Fresh ground Black Pepper
1 tbsp Butter / Margarine
1 tsp Cumin seeds
100g Basmati Rice
800ml Chicken Stock
85g Frozen Peas
A bunch of Spring Onions, finely chopped
Foraged Chive flowers (Not really needed, but they added a bit of colour contrast)
Home made Plum sauce (See below)
 
Method:-
 
(1) Score the Duck skin and rub with Garam Masala, Ginger and ground Black Pepper.
(2) Chill for 30 minutes to allow the marinade to flavour the meat.
(3) Heat the oven to 200c.
(4) Gently fry the Duck breasts skin side down until the fat runs out.
(5) Transfer to a baking dish skin side up then leave to rest.
(6) Melt butter in a large pan. Add Cumin seeds and fry for 2 to 3 minutes then and add the garlic.
(7) Transfer the Duck breasts into the oven.
(8) Stir in the Rice.
(9) Pour over the Stock and simmer for 10 minutes.
(10) Add Peas in the last 4 minutes.
(11) When the liquid has absorbed folk through and add the Spring Onions.
(12) Season to taste.
(13) Slice the Duck breasts and serve on a bed of the Rice dressed with sliced Spring Onions, Chive flowers and Plum sauce.

Plum sauce

Ingredients:-

½ of frozen foraged Plums ( A punnet of red supermarket Plums will do the trick!)
1 tbsp Wholegrain Mustard
1 tbsp Sugar
3 tbsp Spirit Vinegar

Method:-

(1) Add all the ingredients to a pan and bring to the boil.
(2) Reduce the heat to simmer for 40 minutes.
(3) Press through a sieve.
(4) Return to the heat just before serving.

If we were asked to pay £19.95 in a restaurant for this dish we would happily have paid it, if we had the money. But instead we created it at home for less than £4 for two of us and we have Risotto left for the foundation for tomorrows meal.

 

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Why is cooking from scratch better? Our opinion. Eat well on universal credit

Now this how you do Food Journalism! Article from The Guardian (Opens in a new Tab)

This is a beautifully written article and it highlights many issues.

However I’d like to add to it a bit if I / We may?

If you can’t be bothered reading - “Cook From Scratch”……..

Why do we cook everything from scratch? There are various reasons:-

(1) Cost. Generally I buy the most costly ingredient first, usually the Meat or Fish (Protein Component). We then assess what ingredients we have available and the sort of dish we intend to create. I then nip off and get whatever additional items we need. This might seem like a very time intensive way to deal with cooking / shopping? Well it is probably inefficient, but we have a number of supermarkets and independent shops within walking distance, for which we are grateful.

(2) Ingredient Control. Sue has Celiac Disease and over the last year or so has developed a Lactose Intolerance. They unfortunately often go hand-in-hand. So anything with the slightest trace of Wheat is banished from the flat. Dairy can be mitigated by Sue taking a Lactase Enzyme tablet or two before eating anything which contains Lactose. But really, it’s much easier to just not eat something which you know is going to make you ill.

(3) Quality of Ingredients. Processed food in a plastic tub, frozen, with a film which you prick….. Come on guys “Food Warehouse” are not exactly marketing their food as healthy, now are they? There are frozen meal businesses which offer high quality food, but it’s generally out of our budget.

(4) Enjoyment. We actually enjoy cooking together. Sue can’t get out of the flat without assistance, however as a couple of foodie with histories including cheffing and butchery it’s no great surprise that we enjoy the process of cooking a good meal on a budget together.

(5) Personal Engagement. When I have gathered the ingredients for a meal and we have created a recipe and cooked it, it’s often fun for us to natter about how it tasted, what we could do next time to improve it etc.

You don’t get any of the above when you microwave frozen ‘stuff’ after bursting the film with a fork.


 

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