Roasted Duck Breast, orange root vegetables and red currant sauce
Had a friend over for dinner who was delayed, so rather than stick to my old standby of seafood risotto got inspired by some duck breasts I found at the corner supermarket. So went home and browsed through some recipes to come up with the combo below, which worked really really well - and it took no time at all.
Recipe:
- two duck breasts, skin scored (though not through to the meat)
- 1 tbs honey
- 1 tbs soy
- 1 tbs whiskey (optiona)
- 1 small butternut squash
- 1 sweet potato
- a handful fresh thyme (or 1 tbs dry)
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 2 tbs red currant chutney
Marinate the duck in the honey, soy and whiskey. In the meantime, cut the butternut squash lengthwise, core and cut into wedges (don’t bother peeling them). Do the same with the sweet potato. Place in a roasting dish and set aside.
Take the duck breasts out of the marinade and fry in a pan on a medium heat, skin side down for about 5 minutes and much of the fat has melted away. Turn over to the meat side and fry for an additional minute. Take off heat and place the duck aside on a plate.
Spoon out most of the fat from the pan and into the roasting dish to coat the vegetables. Add some thyme and salt and pepper and place in a preheated oven (200c) and roast for 10-15 minutes, turning over occasionally.
Meanwhile, return the pan to the heat, and add the wine and scrape up the bits to coat. Once the wine has reduce, add the red currant chutney, stir, and turn off heat.
Take the vegetables out of the oven and add the duck breasts, skin side up and return to the oven for about 10 minutes (for medium). Turn off heat, leave oven ajar and let rest for 5 minutes. To serve, slice up the duck thickly, spoon over the sauce and serve the vegetables on the side.
Serves 2-3 (depending on the size of the duck breasts)
