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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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Left Over Lamb Curry

We splashed out of a leg of Lamb for Christmas Day. Quite an investment for us and far too much meat for one sitting. So Sue cobbled this together with the left-over meat.

Ingredients:-

500g of roasted Lamb, cut into chunks
1 Thumb of Ginger grated. Or 1 Tsp of dried Ginger
4 Cloves of Garlic, minced
2 Red Onions, sliced
1 Tsp of Cinnamon  powder
1 Tsp of ground Coriander
1 Tsp of ground Cumin
1 Tsp of ground Turmeric
½ a Tsp of Fennel Seeds
2 Tsp of Chilli Powder
A 400g tin of Chopped Tomatoes, plus 400g of water
Salt & Pepper to season
Oil to fry

Method:-

(1) Add to Oil to a large pan and fry the Onions until softened.
(2) Add the Garlic and Ginger and fry for a minute or so.
(3) Season with Salt & Pepper.
(4) Add the remaining spices and stir in.
(5) Add the chopped Tomatoes and water.
(6) Add the Lamb reducing the heat and simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours.

The odd looking objects around the plates are Sprout Bhaji! ( http://www.eatwellonuc.org.uk/index.php/recipes/420-curry-pies-sprout-bhaji )

 

Carp Thing - You make our hearts sing

Carp Thing - You make our hearts sing and everything. We think we love you!

At the original price of £12.09 I would certainly not have bought this. But at £4.84 it was worth a chance. I’m more butcher than fishmonger and for me this was a really difficult fish to fillet. But it was worth the effort.

Ingredients:-

1 fresh Carp, filleted and gutted
A handful of cooked King Prawns and Mussels
4 Cloves of Garlic, minced and divided in two
Zest of a Lemon
Juice of ½ a Lemon
2 Tbsp of Capers
1 Red Onion, finely diced
4 Tbsp of Lactose free Butter / Margarine
200ml of Lactose free Milk
2 Tbsp of ground Cashew Nuts
1 Tsp of dried Thyme
Spaghetti, sufficient of two people (Gluten free for us)
200ml of White Wine
Salt & Pepper to season
Oil to fry

Method:-

(1) Add a little Oil and half of the Margarine to a large frying pan and fry the Onions over a medium heat.
(2) When softened add half of the minced Garlic and fry for a further minute.
(3) Season with Salt & Pepper.
(4) Add the White Wine and allow to simmer.
(5) Combine the Ground Cashew Nuts and Milk and add to the pan, stirring until the sauce starts to thicken.
(6) In a separate pan add the remaining 2 Tbsp of Margarine on a low heat.
(7) Add the remaining minced Garlic, Lemon Zest, Lemon Juice and Capers & allow to simmer of a minute of so.
(8) Add the Thyme and season with Salt & Pepper.
(9) Cook the Pasta in salted water until al dente.
(10) Add the Pasta to the sauce along with the Prawns, and Mussels & combine.
(11) Heat a little Oil in a separate pan and fry the Carp skin side down for 2 minutes. Until the skin is crispy.
(12) Turn over and fry until the fish is cooked through.
(13) Serve the Pasta on warmed plates with the Carp over the top, pouring the Caper Sauce over.
(14) Garnish with a slice of Lemon and Parsley.


We treated this in a similar way that we would ‘Sea Fish’ and although I’ve heard stories of Carp tasting of soil, pond gunge and generally being nasty, we  didn’t get any of that. We really enjoyed it and will certainly eat it again if we find it at this price.

Braised Beef Skirt recipe, eat well on universal credit

Perhaps not the most appealing looking cut of Beef, but it tastes really good if you cook it low and slow.

Ingredients:-

400g of Beef Skirt, cubed
Flour to coat the Beef (Gluten free for us)
1 Onion, Thickly sliced
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp of Shaoxing Wine
200ml of Red Wine (It can to the most inexpensive / dreadful stuff!)
2 Bay Leaves
2 Star Anise
500ml of Beef Stock
1 Punnet of Mushrooms, chopped
2 Carrots, thickly batoned
2 Large Potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes
2 Tbsp of Margarine
Salt & Pepper to season
Oil to fry

Method:-

(1) Season the Beef with Salt & Pepper and coat in Flour.
(2) In a large pan or Dutch Oven add a little Oil and brown the meat on all sides over a high heat.
(3) Remove and set aside.
(4) Add the Margarine and reduce the heat.
(5) Fry the Onions until softened and add the Garlic cooking for a further minute.
(6) Add the Shaoxing Wine, Red Wine and Stock.
(7) Reduce the heat to simmer and add the Bay Leaves & Star Anise.
(8) Stir in the Beef and allow to simmer for 4 hours.
(9) At about 2 hours add the Potatoes, Carrots and Mushrooms.
(10) Leave partially covered for the remainder of the cooking time, stirring occasionally to prevent it sticking.

We served ours with home made toasted Olive Bread. This will easily feed 4 hungry people and was well within our self imposed budget. Also very tasty!
 

Chicken Chilidron recipe, eat well on universal credit

While searching for inexpensive bits of Chicken for the Foxes I came across this box of bits. We had some Chorizo left in the fridge which I added to and this was the result. I’m pretty sure if I’d brought some old cardboard boxes home, Sue would have made a cracking meal from the, but this flavour combination was considerably better….

Ingredients:-

2 Legs & 2 Thighs of Chicken
200g of Chorizo, thickly sliced
1 Onion, sliced
3 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Tin of Plumb Tomatoes, chopped
400ml of Chicken Stock
A few sprigs of Rosemary
1 Large Red Pepper, charred in Oil
1 Hand full of mixed Olives
½ a Tsp of Paprika
½ a Tsp of Turmeric
The zest of one Lemon
3 Anchovies, drained
300 ml of boiling Water
A Glug of Shaoxing Wine
Salt & Pepper to season
Oil to fry

Method:-

(1) Add a little Oil to a Dutch Oven and heat to a medium heat.
(2) Season the Chicken portions with Salt & Pepper and then brown on all side, setting aside.
(3) Add the Chorizo and fry until crisp. Remove and set aside with the Chicken.
(4) Add the Onion and fry until softened.
(5) Add the Garlic and stir as it cooks to soak up the Chorizo Oil.
(6) Reduce to heat to low.
(7) Chop the Tomatoes.
(8) Char the Red Pepper in a griddle pan with a little oil. Remove and set aside.
(9) De-glaze the griddle pan with the Shaoxing Wine.
(10) To the Dutch Oven add the Peppers, Tomatoes and Chicken Stock.
(11) Add most of the Rosemary (Holding back a sprig), Chicken, Chorizo and the de-glaze from the griddle pan.
(12) Reduce the heat to low and simmer with the lid slightly open for 1 to 1 ½ hours, until the sauce has thickened and the Chicken is tender.
(13) Place the Olives in a bowl and pour over the boiling water, leaving to steep, with a pinch of Paprika & Turmeric
(14) Add the Olive Stock and cook for a further 30 minutes.
(15) Add the Lemon Zest and Anchovies, stirring in well.
(16) Fry the remain Rosemary to crumble as a garnish.
(17) Before serving remove the Rosemary sprigs from the Dutch Oven.

We served ours over mixed rice and it was really good. Or as Sue says. "It was OK!!!!!"

 

Spinach Gratin recipe, eat well on universal credit

We needed Spinach for a recipe the other day. I appreciate that it wilts down, but why do we always have to buy it in industrial quantities?

So what to do with left-over Spinach? This worked really well as a side dish.

Ingredients:-

½ an Onion, finely sliced
2 Tbsp of Plain Flour (Gluten free for us)
¼ Tsp of dry Thyme
240ml of Milk (Lactose free for us)
2 Tbsp of Ground Cashew Nuts
3 Tbsp of Dairy Free Margarine
140g of Breadcrumbs (Gluten free for us)
100g of Cheese (Lactose free for us)
200g of Spinach
20g of Italian style grated Cheese
Salt & Pepper to season
Oil to fry

Method:-

(1) On a low heat add a little oil to a frying pan and fry the Onions until softened.
(2) Sprinkle the Flour over Onions.
(3) Season with Salt & Pepper.
(4) Add the Spinach and Thyme and stir in.
(5) Lower the heat until the Spinach has wilted.
(6) Whisk the ground Cashew Nuts into the Milk and add to the pan.
(7) Allow to simmer for 2 minutes.
(8) Add the Cheese.
(9) Spoon the mix into oven proof dishes.
(10) Add the melted Margarine to the Breadcrumbs along with the Italian style Grated Cheese.
(11) Sprinkle over and place in a pre-heated oven at 180c for 15 to 20 minutes, until the topping is golden brown.

We served this as a side for a small Pork Leg cut. This outshone the rather tough bit of Pig!

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