The soul of this dish was the duck stock used to make the jus. It was from a Heston Blumenthal recipe that I had shared in a different post. I've made a big pot of it and had apportioned it into smaller bags and kept it in the freezer. It's a great way to add lots of flavours into a dish with minimal amount of work, especially on a weeknight.
Difficulty: Medium
Time: 2 hours
Serves: 2
Ingredients
Duck Breast
- 2 duck breasts
- salt
- pepper
- oil
Macadamia Crumbs
- 1/4 cup macadamia nuts
Macadamia Puree
- 1/4 cup macadamia nuts
- 1/4 cup milk
- salt
Duck Jus
- 1.5 cup duck stock*
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 pinch allspice
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1 clove
- 1 slice of ginger
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- salt
- pepper
- 4 tbsp cold butter
Radicchio
- 1 small raddichio washed and leaves separated
- salt
- pepper
- oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp butter
Garnish
- fennel frond
* I made a big batch of duck stock from this recipe and had portion them up and kept them in freezer. It comes in super handy when I need to whip up a quick weekday dinner.
Method
1. Season the duck breast well with salt and pepper. Place it into individual zip lock bags, cook in a sous vide bath at 58 degrees for 1.5 hours.
2. For the macadamia crumb, gently toast some macadamia in a pan over medium heat until golden. Roughly process it in a food processor into crumb. Set aside.
3. For the macadamia puree, gently heat up the macadamia with the milk in a pot on stove top until it's warm through but not boiling. Blend it int a smooth paste in a food processor and season with salt.
4. Make the duck jus by caramelising the honey in a small saucepan over medium heat until dark brown but not burnt. Add in the duck stock, allspice, coriander, clove, ginger, pepper and cook over medium/high heat until you have approximately 1/2 of stock. Season to taste with salt and butter and slowly incorporate the butter until it's fully melted. Keep warm and set aside.
5. When the duck breasts are ready, take it out and dry it well. Heat up some oil in a cast iron pan over medium/high heat, sear the duck breast skin side down to render the fat and brown the skin for about 3-5 minutes. Use a thong to press the skin down to ensure even searing. Take it out once ready and let it rest.
6. Heat up some oil in the cast iron pan, add the radicchio, salt and pepper and stir for few minutes until the leaves are nicely softened. Add the balsamic vinegar, mix it well before incorporating the butter to finish.
7. To assemble, place some radicchio on a plate (I used a semi-sphere pudding mould to shape it), a piece of sliced duck breast, a spoonful of macadamia puree and crumb, finish with the duck jus. Garnish with some fennel frond.
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