ducks

A restaurant-quality dish by Gordon Ramsay made using easily found ingredients

Pan-fried duck breast with creamed cabbage, chestnuts & caramelised pear

duck breasts

garlic

thyme

olive oil

tsp white wine vinegar

celeriac

smoked bacon

thyme leaf

Savoy cabbage

double cream

cooked chestnut pieces, sliced

pear

star anise

tbsp icing sugar

tsp balsamic vinegar

Lightly score the skin of the duck breasts, then season well. Place a non-stick pan over a medium heat, then lay the duck in the pan, skin-side down. Cook until the fat starts to come from the duck, then add the garlic and thyme. Turn down the heat, then continue to cook for 15-20 mins, depending on the size of the duck breast, until the skin is really crisp and brown. As it cooks, pour the fat into a large pan for the cabbage.

Flip the duck over, cook on the flesh side for 3 mins until browned, then turn off the heat (this will result in meat that is pink in the middle - cook for a few minutes longer if you like it well done). Leave the duck in the pan to rest.

While the duck cooks, heat 1 tbsp of its fat in the other pan. Add the celeriac and bacon, then gently fry for 5 mins until the celeriac has browned and the bacon starts to crisp. Add the thyme, then the cabbage. Fry the cabbage for 5 mins until it starts to wilt. Add 100ml water and simmer for 5 mins until the water has evaporated and the celeriac is soft. Pour in the cream, stir to coat, then add the chestnuts and heat through. This can be done up to a day ahead - cook the celeriac in 1 tbsp vegetable oil instead of the duck fat and reheat with an extra splash of cream before serving.

Cut the pear in half and use a melon baller or teaspoon to scoop out the core. Place a star anise in the cavity of each half.

Place 3 tbsp of the icing sugar in a non-stick pan and heat to make a light amber caramel. Pour in the vinegar and bubble to make a sticky syrup. Dust the pear halves heavily with the rest of the icing sugar, then place the pan back on the heat. Cook the pear for 10 mins until brown and caramelised all over. This can be done up to a day ahead and reheated, adding a splash of water.

To serve, slice each duck breast lengthways and dress the watercress in the olive oil and vinegar. Spoon a neat mound of cabbage on one side of each plate. Place a pear half, cut-side up, on the opposite side of the plate and drizzle the sticky sauce around it. Place the outside slices of duck breast on the cabbage and fan the rest of the duck over. Scatter the dressed watercress sprigs around the sides of the plates and serve.

Ducks glazed with honey or maple syrup and stuffed with spiced kumquats are roasted, then the kumquats are blended with ginger for a sweet-tart relish. Good for four very big eaters.

Glazed duck with kumquats

1.3kg

fine sea salt

(7 ounces) honey

five-spice powder

(3 ounces) peeled ginger, divided

(14 ounces) kumquats

cinnamon sticks

cooking oil or pan coating, as needed null

kumquats

shallots

(⅓oz) ginger

1tsp black mustard seeds

(1½oz), or more, to taste muscovado or brown sugar

rice vinegar

If the ducks have the head and neck attached, chop them off as close to the body as possible. Chop off the wing tips. (The wing tips and neck can be used to make duck stock, although you won’t need it for this recipe.)

Weigh each duck separately, then times the weight in kg by .005 – this is the amount of salt, in grams, you will need (if using pounds, use ½tsp per pound of duck). Weigh out the correct amount of salt, then sprinkle it over the duck, using more on the meaty parts (breast, legs and thighs) and less on the wings and back. Sprinkle some of the salt in the cavity of the bird. Put the ducks in a container, cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least eight hours.

Grate 10g (⅓oz) of the peeled ginger, preferably using a Japanese ceramic oroshigane (grater with fine teeth), or use a fine rasp-type grater. Put the grated ginger in a small saucepan and add the honey or maple syrup and the rose wine. Sprinkle in the five-spice powder (if you add it all at once, it tends to clump up). Bring to a simmer, then cool to tepid.

Rinse the kumquats and drain them in a colander. Divide the remaining peeled ginger into four even portions and lightly crush each piece with the side of a cleaver. Put one piece of ginger into the cavity of each duck, then add a cinnamon stick and one star anise. Stuff four kumquats into each duck cavity, then add one more piece of ginger and another cinnamon stick and star anise. Add more kumquats, packing them in so they are almost spilling out. You might not need all of them.

Use wooden toothpicks to “sew” up the flaps of skin hanging over the duck cavity: overlap the two pieces of skin, pierce the layers on one side with a tooth­pick, slide it under the layers and then out the other side. You will probably need to use three or four toothpicks for each duck, to prevent the kumquats from falling out.

Use pan coating to spray a roasting pan large enough to hold the ducks, or brush it very lightly with oil. Put the stuffed ducks breast-side up in the pan and brush them thoroughly with the honey or maple-syrup mixture. Turn the birds over so they are back-side up, and brush them evenly with the syrup mixture. Leave at room temperature for about two hours. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

Once again, brush the backs of the ducks with the honey or maple-syrup glaze, then slide the pan into the oven. Cook for 20 minutes, then take the pan from the oven and brush the backs once more with the glaze. Cook for 20 more minutes, then carefully turn the ducks over so they are breast-side up. Brush with the glaze and bake for 20 minutes before brushing again. Place the ducks back in the oven and bake for 20 more minutes (or longer, if the birds are larger than 1.3kg). Remove the pan from the oven and leave the ducks to rest at room temperature while making the kumquat relish.

Remove the toothpicks from the duck and take the kumquats from the cavity (discard the ginger, cinnamon and star anise). Roughly chop the kumquats (they will be hot, so be careful) and put them in a pan; if you like, you can remove and discard the seeds, although they are edible.

Quarter the shallots, thinly slice them, then put them in the pan and add the grated ginger. Put the mustard seeds in a small, unoiled skillet placed over a medium flame. Shake the skillet constantly until the mustard seeds are toasted and fragrant, then add them to the pan with the other ingredients. Stir in the sugar and vinegar.

Bring the mixture to a boil over a medium flame, then lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, adding some water if the ingredients stick to the pan. Taste the relish and add more sugar and vinegar so the mixture has a sweet-tart flavour. Simmer for five more minutes, adding a little water, if necessary; the texture should be thick and jam-like. Transfer the relish to a bowl and serve with the duck.

For a casual meal, cut the ducks in half using poultry shears, and place each half on a dinner plate. For a more formal presentation, carve off the duck breasts and slice them, then lay them on a platter. Carve off the wings and legs. Cut the the legs between the joint, so there's a drumstick and thigh. Lay the pieces on a platter. Any juices on the carving board should be poured into a small bowl and served with the duck and the kumquat-ginger relish.

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Pan-fried duck breast with creamed ...

Glazed duck with kumquats

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