Jozef Rogulski's seasonal duck recipe pairs perfectly pink breasts with the earthy flavours of winter; namely salt-baked celeriac and mushroom ketchup. These core elements are brought together with a deliciously sweet honey sauce and a savoury truffle-infused granola for crunch. Jozef serves the dish as part of a 3 course meal, but suggests using a whole duck breast per person if serving as a standalone main course.
The truffle granola and sauce in this recipe can be made up to a day in advance, so begin with these. To make the truffle granola, preheat an oven to 160ºC/gas mark 3. Roughly chop the hazelnuts, place on a tray and roast for 5 minutes or until golden brown, then leave to cool
Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl, then spread the mixture out on a baking tray and bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool, then stir through the hazelnuts. Reserve in an airtight container until needed
To make the sauce, place a large pan over a medium heat and add the oil. Once hot, add the mirepoix and sauté until golden brown (about 7 minutes). Turn the heat down and add the honey to the pan
Cook until the honey starts to bubble and darkens to a caramel colour (keep an eye on it as the honey will burn quickly after darkening). Pour in the chicken stock and add the cloves. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes
After this time, pass the sauce through a sieve and measure out 500g of it into a pan (any leftover sauce can be frozen and kept for another dish). Add the butter, then place over a medium heat and reduce until the butter emulsifies with the stock and it looks a bit like butter scotch. Remove from the heat and pass through a sieve into a smaller pan. Cover with a lid and reserve in the fridge to reheat before serving
On the day you plan to serve, make the salt-baked celeriac. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4. Peel the celeriac and rub with a little oil and plenty of sea salt. Place in the centre of a sheet of tin foil, place the thyme on top and wrap tightly. Place in the oven and cook for 45–60 minutes, or until tender
While the celeriac bakes, make the mushroom ketchup. Place a pan over a medium heat with the sunflower oil and diced onions. Cook for about 8 minutes until soft and caramelised, then add the spices and cook for one more minute
Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until all the liquid has reduced and the mushrooms are cooked through. Transfer to a blender and blitz into a smooth ketchup. Place in a pan and cover, ready to reheat before serving
Once the celeriac has cooked through and is tender, leave to cool then cut into thick rectangles. Reserve these batons on a baking tray and drizzle with a little olive oil, ready to reheat later
Now everything else is ready, you can cook the duck breasts. Turn the oven down to 100ºC/gas mark 1/4. Score the skin and season the breasts on both sides. Place the breasts in a frying pan over a low heat skin-side down and slowly render down the fat until the skin turns golden and crisp (do not turn the duck over)
Once nice and golden, remove the duck from the pan, place on a cold tray skin-side up and cook in the oven until the duck reaches a core temperature of 50ºC, which will take about 5–8 minutes. Leave to rest in a warm place for 5 minutes before carving
While the duck cooks and rests, gently reheat the mushroom ketchup and sauce over a low heat and place the celeriac in the oven to warm through
To plate, carve the duck breasts in half lengthways and divide between plates. Follow with the celeriac and mushroom ketchup, using a piping bag if you have one or a spoon if not. Garnish the plate with the granola, mushroom slices, truffle shavings and picked chervil and finish the with the honey sauce
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