Breast of Gressingham Duck with Shallots 3 Ways

The shallot purée can be made days in advance or even made and frozen then used as you need it.

For the shallot puree:

Place the butter into a suitable pan. Add the chopped shallots and cook gently until they are ready to puree. Season with salt.

Place into a food processor and puree finely, pass through a sieve if required. Cover and keep in the fridge until required.

For the potato fondant:

Peel the potatoes and slice the sides off to flatten them. Then cut into discs using a cylinder or pastry cutter. In a saucepan melt a knob of butter over a moderate heat and put in the potatoes. Cook on all sides until golden.

Then place to potatoes in an oven proof dish and half cover in chicken stock. place in the oven at 180°C for 35-40 minutes. After 15 minutes add ¾ of the peeled of shallots.

The stock should be soaked up by the potatoes and shallots, leaving them cooked through and very tasty.

Time the cooking of these shallots and potatoes so that they get into the oven first with the duck going in towards the last 20 minutes of their cooking time.

For the duck:

Place a suitably large ovenproof pan on the stove and pour in a spoonful of oil. You won’t need much as the duck will render down a lot of its own fat. Season the duck breasts with sea salt and pepper and place flesh side down into the hot pan. Cook for 1 minute then turn them over onto the fat side and place the whole pan with the duck in it into the oven.

They should take approximately 10 minutes to cook depending on their thickness in an oven at 180°C. Once cooked remove from the oven and allow to rest in a warm place for 6- 8 minutes.

Deglaze the duck cooking pan by placing back on the heat, pouring in the red wine and reducing until syrupy. Add the remainder of the stock and reduce until you have reached a sauce consistency.

Pass through a very fine sieve in to a clean pan.

For the deep fried shallots:

Slice the shallots into thin rings and place into a little seasoned flour. Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown and then place on to kitchen paper to drain. Season with salt and pepper.

To dress the dish:

Place the hot potato in the centre of the dish, on top of that place the deep fried shallot rings.

Dot the hot shallot puree around the outside. On top of the shallot puree, add one of the braised shallots.

Cut the duck breasts into 6 equal cubes and place that around the outside. Drizzle with the hot sauce and serve immediately.