Roast Duck with Apples and Beetroot
My duck dish for February…
Duck paired with fruit, nothing new there but then ‘if it ain’t broke why fix it?’…..I’ve already written about what we do with the legs and the bones of our ducks now it’s the turn of the breast meat.
I like spices with duck, I don’t often stray from the path that is cloves, ginger, anise, cinnamon, juniper, sechuan pepper, or coriander. I like those spices which are somehow ‘warming’, the type you can taste in gingerbread for example. I use ground gingerbread as a crust for venison but that’s another story. Our sauces are inevitably spiced with a combination of the above but what I don’t like is overt sweetness. A lot of duck sauces can be too sweet, near sickly and I am sure we have all suffered a ghastly orange sauce at some point in our lives. I
For this dish I use apples which are pureed with a little five spice, apples quatered and roasted with a clove or two and a splash of white wine, some roasted baby beetroots and a piece of braised chicory to help cut through the sweetness. I like chicory with duck, we cut them in half and cook them in a light caramel flavoured with thyme and bay, the caramel takes the edge of the bitterness but not its character. We cook them until they are nice and sticky, golden and delicious. Try them with pork, another winner.
The duck breasts are sealed breast side down in a hot pan and cooked in a hot oven for eight to nine minutes. We then wrap them in cling film and leave them to rest. The meat relaxes and any excess juices are captured in the wrap. Just before serving we crisp the skin up in a hot pan and slice it quite pink. The duck sauce is infused with a beetroot so that the flavour and colour bleed into the sauce and give it a wonderful crimson sheen on the plate…
Miles, this is simply pornographic.
Your sauce looks so rich and silky and the crisp, golden fat on the duck is enough to make me throw away my Lorraine Kelly fitness video.
Fabulous!
Dave.
January 29, 2009 @ 6:59 pm
Miles,
If Dave is throwing away his Lorraine Kelly fitness video then I’d better have it… judging by all this glorious food I’m going to need it
Cid ~ currently being tormented by a new home menu lacking in scrumptiousness but essential for the waistline!
January 29, 2009 @ 8:00 pm
Cid, don’t remind me
Today I stocked up on loads of muesli, assorted seeds, fruit and vegetables, but one glance at that stunning dish and I can feel my resolve crumbling. Nice one, Miles 
January 29, 2009 @ 8:25 pm
Dave,
Beetroot really does do wonders for a sauce, the colour its gives is incredibly vibrant. We use it with mackerel too.
Miles
January 29, 2009 @ 8:26 pm
Cid & Xenny
Well Cid anyway!
Stick with the seeds or Melissa will tell us both off!
Brace yourself for the cold weather
Miles
January 29, 2009 @ 8:27 pm
Yes, I am lurking around checking on you all.
But Dave may be right, your creations are so scrumptious looking, you might have to change the name of your blog. I’ll just leave it at that.
I love beets and eat them 3 or 4 times a week. Most of the time raw. My mother even says when I was a little one I thought beets were dessert. Beets and spinach.
Ground gingerbread with venison? Wow, interesting — how did you fall into that one? I’m telling you Miles, you’ve got a novel brewing.
Melissa
P.S. Now back to the kale and chia seeds.
January 29, 2009 @ 11:02 pm
Melissa,
The ground gingerbread gives the meat a lovely crust and if you take a closer look at the ingredients they all go very well with the meat individually as well as collectively.
Miles
January 30, 2009 @ 8:25 am
Miles
GreedyDave makes a good analogy
Miles, this is simply pornographic.
It’s frustrating to look at when you can’t actually get your hands on it
Rod
January 30, 2009 @ 9:13 am
Miles,
This looks very tempting and sounds extremely tasty. Your reference to gingerbread reminds me of a german dish called Sauerbraten (marinaded beef) which is enriched by the addition of some gingerbread and black treacle.
Melissa,
Raw beetroot? Never heard of it nor would I have thought of it. Does it not play on your intestines eating it so often?
Sorry Miles, we digress.
Elsie
January 30, 2009 @ 9:46 am
I just love you guys. What an entertaining bunch! Miles, reading your blog first thing in the morning is such a lovely way to start my day. I always learn something new and end up with a smile on my face. This post brought me all the way from food porn to raw beets to black treacle. Much better than reading the newspaper!
I had to look up the word treacle, Elsie. That’s a new one for me. As for the raw beets, I shred them in green salads, put chunks in egg salad, and munch on strips of them like you would carrots or celery. I also juice them with a little ginger, some apple and a carrot or two. Then I blend in some vanilla goat yogurt and it makes a wonderful smoothie. Beets are full of nutrients and are very anti-inflammatory, not to mention sweet. They don’t bother me at all, but that’s because they’re a staple in my diet. You’d have to start slowly.
;-)
Melissa
January 30, 2009 @ 12:35 pm
Elsie and Melissa,
I too like a beetroot juiced with some fruit, comes out the colour of Ribena …. just remember not to wear a white shirt!
One of these days I plan to buy myself a better juicer, one that takes whole fruits and veg rather than the little machine given to me that requires lots of chopping beforehand.
As to the gingerbread crust…. not sure it would make it as far as the venision before being dunked in some coffee and scoffed in my kitchen
Cid
January 30, 2009 @ 1:16 pm
All this talk of beet really brings back such beautiful memories. My mom was (and still is) a firm believer in the power of vegetables, fruits and herbs. I cannot recall a single week when we didn’t have either beetroot salad, amongst others. She also has a herbal remedy for every ailment under the sun, and then some. I’ve learnt a lot from her, and she in turn learnt it from her mom, and so forth. Every now and then the Scottish name for a herb will pop out, courtesy of a great-great-great grandparent who came to Africa for a visit and ended up staying forever. I must admit, this is the first time that I’ve seen beetroot used with duck, Miles, and it really does put an interesting (and no doubt tasty!) spin on things.
January 30, 2009 @ 2:41 pm
Miles and All,
.
.
I agree with Melissa that you provide a great platform for a gathering of minds. What better compliment than making someone smile of a morning
Thank you for the information, Melissa. I will gradually incorporate some into my diet. You must be a picture of health
Yenny, your Mum sounds great and down to earth, lucky you. Send us some of your warmer weather, we could do with it as snow is due to come in at the weekend, brrr.
Miles, this calls for some of your warming curries in the absence of the lovely duck dish above. Cid will be busy dunking something tasty, no doubt. Gluehwein may also be on the agenda in the Nean household..
Elsie
January 30, 2009 @ 4:29 pm
Elsie,
I shall be indulging in some spicy, homemade chai tea to keep the chills out…. something I’ve become addicted to recently. The addition of a tot of medicinal alcohol might make it more warming however….. funny how Mr Nean just crossed my mind
Cid
January 30, 2009 @ 5:54 pm
Elsie, I had to work through the whole of Christmas and New Year which was quite upsetting. But drinking Glühwein with my parents at the Manchester Christmas market will be my outstanding memory of 2008. Check with Melissa but I’m pretty sure Glühwein is the cure for at least 8 known diseases.
Xenny, okay so I’m 32 years old, but do you think your mom would adopt me?
Dave
January 30, 2009 @ 7:10 pm
Cid, I’ve never heard the word Ribena before and found nothing in the dictionary. And Elsie and Dave, I have no clue what Gluhwein is, but it sounds rather hot toddy-ish. Am I right?
Xenny, my great-great-great grandparents were from Scotland as well. Life is interesting, isn’t it?
And yes, Miles, your blog has become part of my early morning routine (I get up at a ridiculous hour). You all keep me entertained. I almost forget that I have my own blog to tend to.
:-)
Melissa
January 30, 2009 @ 8:06 pm
Elsie,
I cooked sauerbraten at work recently, it was superb. A fine dish.
Miles
January 30, 2009 @ 8:27 pm
Melissa,
Yes you do have a blog to write-pull your finger out
Miles
January 30, 2009 @ 8:28 pm
GD, at 32 you’d be my mom’s youngest, but I’m positive that she’d welcome you with open arms. Forewarned is forearmed: my dad is partial to tea. Pour enough of it down his gullet and he’d happily let you have control of the television’s remote
Melissa, it certainly is an interesting world in which we live. A few years ago I met Paul Coleman, aka the EarthWalker. He literally walks the earth, planting trees wherever he goes. I asked him to deliver a letter in China at the first school he comes across, with a view to starting correspondence with some educators there. Well, a few days ago I was contacted by a Chinese teacher, and as it turned out, his wife and I were classmates in college. We truly live in interesting times
January 31, 2009 @ 6:04 am
Melissa,
Ribena is a blackcurrant squash drink over here beloved by millions and probably one of the healthier squash beverages, despite the sugar content.
My household loves elderflower cordials and apple juice…. things like that. We never buy Coca Cola and the like and tend to drink water as much as anything, well apart from my collection of tea of course.
By the way don’t you just love Xenny’s comment about the EarthWalker….. this blog’s got the lot, it’s truly fabulous
Cid
January 31, 2009 @ 10:11 am
Melissa,
.
Gluehwein is a mulled wine, a dark red wine (not an expensive one) infused with lovely spices, orange and lemon.
As GD said it is something traditional served up on Christmas Markets that gives you al lovely, seasonal glow
Xenny, like Cid, I love your EarthWalker’s tale. It just makes you smile.
Sorry, Miles, this blog has taken up a path of its own. Where were we?
Elsie
February 1, 2009 @ 10:20 am