Elevate your Plate

Background:

With it being Easter weekend, I knew I wanted to make a special meal. Because lamb is quite expensive this time of year, I decided to choose duck as the main meat. After seeing dishes plated on the TV with a variety of accompaniments, I decided to choose a few to pair with duck.

Recipes:

Red wine sauce: https://pickledplum.com/red-wine-sauce-recipe/

Celeriac Purée: https://chezlerevefrancais.com/celeriac-puree/

Honey roasted carrots:

• Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C.
• Add a bag of washed and prepped baby carrots into a sauce pan with 2 Tbsp of butter and 2 cloves of garlic and fry for 2 mins.
• Add in 2 Tbsp of honey to the pan and fry for an additional 2 mins.
• Transfer contents to an oven proof dish and bake for 15 mins or until your desired softness has been reached, then serve.

Stir-fried mushrooms:

• Prepare and wash oyster mushrooms. Add them to a hot pan with ideally left over duck fat or a spoonful of oil if not.
• Add in 2 cloves of garlic with 1 1/2 Tbsp of soy sauce.
• Sauté everything for 7 mins and serve.

Duck breast:

• Remove the duck breast from its packet and lightly dab the fat with a paper towel.
• Score the duck breast fat using a knife in a criss-cross pattern but be careful not to score the meat underneath.
• Season both sides well with salt and pepper and place fat side down into a cold pan. Turn on the heat and leave the duck untouched in the pan for 13 mins on a medium heat setting.
• Turn over after the 13 min mark and cook for another 6 mins on that side, then remove from the pan and leave to rest on a plate for 5 mins then slice. (adjust the cooking of the duck based upon your meat eating preference)

Tips and Tricks:

• Reduce the red wine sauce for longer than it says in the recipe if you desire a thicker sauce
• Take your time plating the dish, for an appealing look

Recomendation and rating:

Overall the dish was well received! Everyone loved the duck breast, and most were pleasantly surprised by how nice the celeriac purée was. The taste was nutty and had a creamy consistency, which when paired with the tangy red wine sauce, both coated the duck well. Honey roasted carrots provided a sweetness and added texture to the plate, with unexpected pops of garlic proved by the oyster mushrooms. Apart from the red wine sauce needing further tweaking, such as reducing more or perhaps changing it to a plum sauce; the dish was a hit and so it gets 4 stars!