Roast duck breast with white asparagus, pea cream and beer gravy

Begin by preparing the sauce. Place a thick-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat and add a splash of rapeseed oil. Once the oil is hot, fry the sliced onion, garlic, thyme and bay leaf until golden brown

Continue to fry for a few minutes before adding the pale ale. Bring to the boil and reduce by three quarters

Add the brown chicken stock, boil and reduce by half before straining. To finish the sauce, whisk in the butter, check the seasoning with salt and pepper and set aside until ready to serve

To prepare the potatoes, peel each potato and use a 6cm pastry cutter to cut a large cylinder out of each. Cut the top and bottom to flatten, then trim into 3cm puck-shaped discs. Add to a pan with enough rapeseed oil to submerge, place on the hob and, using a sugar thermometer, bring to 110°C. Cook for 40-45 minutes until tender

For the pea cream, sweat the finely chopped shallots in the butter and add the frozen peas. Sweat for 5 minutes, then transfer the ingredients to a blender and blitz for 2–3 minutes

Add the washed spinach leaves to the blender and continue to blitz for another minute

Pass the purée through a fine chinois and season to taste with salt and white pepper. Chill until needed

Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7

To cook the duck, season the breasts with salt and pepper and heat the rapeseed oil in an ovenproof pan on top of the stove

Place the breasts skin-side down into the pan and fry over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes, allowing the skin to release the fat and turn a deep golden brown colour. Turn and place in the oven for 7-8 minutes to finish cooking

Meanwhile, blanch the asparagus in boiling water for a few minutes until tender, then remove and plunge into iced water to refresh

Remove the duck from the oven and set aside to rest for 4-5 minutes. Turn the oven down to 200°C/gas mark 6

Remove the potatoes from the oil and place in a roasting tray in the oven for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven, season and keep warm. Meanwhile, gently reheat the beer sauce

Pan-fry the asparagus in a knob of butter until light golden brown

Slice the duck lengthways and serve onto plates with the pea cream, potato fondant, asparagus spears and a drizzle of the warmed beer sauce. Serve immediately