And to join the rest of world in celebration of love - we decided to give some love to a duck from Luv-A-Duck.
It's a store right next door to our office and they specialize in... you guessed it! DUCK!
This was a particular dish that I wanted to try out after making a batch of plum sauce. It was the perfect excuse :) And because the store really has good produce, there wasn't much needed to make the meat a lot more tastier. A very simple yet tasty meal - and if you like your duck meat still slightly pink in the middle, you've come to the right spot!
Best part is that you only get to use 1 pan for cooking all 3 components. Winner!
5 Spiced Duck Breast with
Wilted Silverbeet and Chickpeas
Served with a Homemade Plum Sauce
2 medium sized duck breasts, skin slightly scored
1.5 teaspoons five spice
salt and pepper to taste
a bunch of silverbeet, chopped
a tin of chickpeas, rinsed
juice of half a lemon
1 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 tablespoons of plum sauce
dash of cherry brandy
Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
The five spice was also a homemade spice mix and echoes the spice used for the plum sauce. The silverbeet and lemon were from the garden.
Season the duck breast with the five spice mix and place skin side down on a hot pan, searing it for 3-4 minutes, then turn to the other side and let sizzle for another minute, then place it straight into the oven for 10 minutes. It should still be slightly pink in the middle if you press it and it still feels a bit firm but slightly springy.
There should be a lot of duck fat after this exercise. Let the duck breasts rest on a separate plate. Drain some and leave about a teaspoon's worth or so in the pan, and then add the garlic and onions and place back over medium heat. Stir until wilted. Toss in the silverbeet and chickpeas, and when the silverbeet is almost done (not overcooked!), finish off with lemon juice and a touch of salt and pepper.
Serve the silverbeet and chickpeas on a plate and place the duck on top. On the same pan, heat about 3 tablespoons of the plum sauce and add a dash of cherry brandy. Let sizzle a little bit.
The duck would have rested a fair bit after this time. Place the duck on top of the silverbeet and then spoon over the plum sauce. Serve immediately.
just a touch of pink
And we also got dessert!
This dessert was also a fairly simple thing to make. It's a no-bake lemon cheesecake, inspired by another Nigella recipe.
biscuit base :
125g Arnott's chocolate biscuits
75g soft butter
300g cream cheese
60g sifted icing sugar
250g double cream
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Prepare a springform tin by greasing and lining the base and sides with greaseproof paper.
Blitz the biscuits until crumbled, then add the butter until it is like soft sand.
Press evenly on to the base of the springform tin.
Refrigerate for 15minutes or so.
Meanwhile, whip cream cheese, icing sugar, double cream and vanilla extract together until well incorporated and smooth. Add lemon juice and zest, it will thicken up a bit more. Pour on to the prepared biscuit base and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
And that's it! Very simple and tasty!!
You can either top it with cherries or blueberries...
or maybe serve with some bubbly?
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