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.
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.
Sue likes Liver anyway, I'm not that keen and Buster the dog has always turned his nose up at anything that is offal like. So we went fishing on the Internet for a recipe which was a bit different than simple Liver and Onions. With a bit of modification on our part this is what we came up with and even as somebody who's not keen I can confirm it was good!
Ingredients:-
900g/1lb Pig’s liver, cut into cubes
2 tbsp plain white flour (Gluten Free in our case)
1 tsp flaked Chilli
1 tsp dried Thyme
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp ground Sumac
1 red onion, thinly sliced
½ cup of chopped parsley
Oil for frying
Method:-
(1) In a bowl combine the flour, flaked Chilli, thyme, salt and some freshly ground black pepper.
(2) Add the cubes of liver and toss well, making sure it is evenly coated. If you have one put the flour etc. in a zip plastic bag, then add the meat and shake well.
(3) In a frying pan, heat the oil and sauté the garlic for about 30 seconds. Add the liver and cook on a high heat turning constantly to ensure it is evenly cooked.
(4) Cook until the liver is crispy on the outside but not overcooked. The inside should remain soft and pinky. Add half the chopped parsley and remove from the pan.
(5) Serve on a bed of sliced red onion tossed with the remaining parsley and ground Sumac.
Notes:-
We found an 'Intercontinental' Shop where the Sumac was 79p for 100g. The original recipe was intended for Calves's Liver, but the Pig's Liver was less than £1 for 900g. Lamb's Liver at £200 per Kg is out of the question!