Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? My husband and I tend not to buy into the commercial side of it, but we do love romancing each other on this day. We even have a tradition where we both book the day off work so we can sleep in and spend quality time together. Sometimes we go out to dinner in the evening, but often I will prepare a special meal (to give him a break from the routine cooking).
This year I am planning to cook the following recipe…
Duck Fillet with Morello Cherries
(Adapted from my mum’s old French recipe book)
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 2 duck breast fillets
- Salt & pepper
- 2 teaspoons of cherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
- 2 teaspoons of berry liqueur
- 6 teaspoons of dry red wine
- 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
- 250g pitted Morello cherries in syrup
- 1 teaspoon chicken stock powder
- 2 teaspoons butter
Method:
- Let the duck fillets come to room temperature for 30 – 60 minutes in a covered dish.
- Season the skin side of the fillets with salt & pepper.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat.
- Cook the duck skin side down for 8 minutes.
- Turn and cook for a further 5 minutes; pricking the skin several times with a fork.
- Remove the duck from the pan and keep covered.
- Discard the cooking fat from the pan if desired or use in the sauce (like I do).
- Add vinegar to pan and let it evaporate while stirring.
- Add the liqueur, wine, sugar, and cherries with their syrup.
- Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 minute.
- Strain the cherries and return the juice to the pan.
- Sir in the chicken stock powder and reduce to about 1 1/2 tablespoons (30 mL)
- Whisk in the butter.
- Remove the sauce from the heat.
- Slice the duck fillets and arrange them on plates.
- Coat the meat with cherries and sauce.
- Serve with a fresh green salad.
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