Duck with Sweet and Sour Jam Sauce

Cook Time 45 minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

2 duck breasts

4 old-style jarred pickled onions - reserve ⅓ of cup of pickling juices

2 tbsp blackberry jam

⅓ cup of chicken stock

2 sprigs of thyme

Salt and pepper

1 small head of radicchio, outer leaves removed, cut into quarters

Sweet potato puree, to serve

Remove duck from the fridge 40 minutes before cooking.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Score the skin of the room-temperature duck with a criss-cross pattern. Pat the duck dry with paper towelling and season with salt and pepper. Add duck breasts to a cold pan, skin-side down. Start the cooking process on a low heat and gradually bring the heat up. Your aim is to render the fat and form a crispy golden skin; this should take 6-8 mins. Turn and cook the other side for 1 minute. Place duck on a tray skin side-up and transfer to the oven and cook for a further 6–8 minutes.

In the meantime, drain off most of the fat from the pan and add the radicchio quarters. Grill for 3-4 minutes on each side and reserve on a plate.

Cut the pickled onions in half and separate the layers of onions.

Once the duck is cooked, transfer to a plate and rest in a warm spot for a further 3–4 minutes.

For the sauce, add the onion to the pan over a medium-high heat. Caramelise for a few minutes before adding pickling juices, followed by the jam. Deglaze the pan with the chicken stock and add the thyme. Reduce by ⅓ and check seasoning.

Slice the duck and add any juices to the pan.

Serve the duck with a spoonful of mash, a wedge of grilled radicchio and jam sauce.