A wonderfully filling meal worthy of a cold winter evening.

Recipe: Michael Van De Elzen

This is a perfect winter dish in my eyes. The red wine beautifully enhances the flavour of the duck and the mash is wonderfully filling, warming and comforting. Like chicken, there are lots of ways to cook duck but this has to be one of my favourites. Duck has a stronger flavor profile than chicken, and with the addition of garlic, balsamic vinegar and honey, this dish is bursting with flavour.

Chianti Duck with Mash

serves: 4
prep time: 30 minutes
cooking time: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

2 duck breasts, skin on
½ red onion, sliced
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1 cup Chianti (or other rich red table wine)
1 can whole peeled tomatoes
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp honey
2 cups potatoes, washed and peeled
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup milk
2 tbsp chopped Italian parsley
fresh fennel for garnish
2 tbsp fresh parmesan, shaved
salt and pepper

METHOD

Preheat oven to 170*C. Score skin of duck breasts with a criss-cross pattern.

Season both sides of duck breasts with salt & pepper. Heat a large oven-proof frying pan over med-high heat. Place duck (skin side down) in hot frying pan and cook until skin is golden. Remove breasts from pan and tip half the fat into a jar or bowl.

In the remaining fat, sauté the onion and garlic until soft. Add red wine & tomatoes, honey, balsamic and bring to the boil. Add duck to the pan, season well with salt & pepper; place in oven for 40 minutes.

While the duck is cooking, prepare the mash. Place the potatoes in a medium sized saucepan enough water to cover and 1tsp salt and bring to the boil. Reduce heat & simmer until the potatoes are tender. Drain potatoes from pot. Return to the empty pot and mash with 4 tbsp olive oil & milk. Season to taste. Remove duck from oven & allow to rest for 5 minutes.

TO SERVE

Spoon mash onto warmed serving plates, pick duck meat from the breasts over the top of the puree. Spoon over a generous amount of the red wine sauce; garnish with curly parsley, shaved parmesan, fennel and a drizzle of olive oil.