Macneil's Smoked Duck Breast with Potato Hollandaise, Roasted Fennel, Pak Choi and Shallots with Macneil's Smoked Garlic Preserved Tomatoes.
This succulent smoked duck recipe is a wonderful balance with the potato hollandaise to give an extra creaminess, the punch of preserved tomatoes and complexity of smoked garlic contrast wonderfully with the bite of the pan roasted vegetables all complimenting the perfectly pink smoked duck. You can recreate this recipe by following our pictures and instructions below:
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 Macneil's Smoked Duck Breast
1 Fennel
4 Shallots
1 Pak Choi
1 Macneil's Smoked Garlic Bulb
1 Punnet of Cherry Tomatoes
Extra Virgin Rapeseed Oil
Light Chicken Stock
For the potato hollandaise
1 Large Potato
3 Egg Yolks
1/2 Block Unsalted Butter
Tarragon Vinegar
Squeeze of Lemon
Seasoning
For the smoked Garlic tomatoes
make these the day before to achieve optimal flavour infusion
Method
Pearce the potato all over with a fork then place it on a baking sheet on a bed of sea salt then place in medium oven to bake
Next make the hollandaise: melt the butter in a pan, take it off the heat and let it stand for 5 minutes. Pour off the clear liquid in to a jug. The sedement left at the bottom can be discarded. Wait until the liquid butter in the jug is just cool enough to put your finger in it.
Put the egg yolks in a blender and set it running. Gradually pour the butter over the eggs so it emulsifies to give a thick sauce. Add a small splash of vinegar, lemon and seasoning to taste. Check the flavour and adjust the vinegar, lemon and seasoning to your liking.
Cover the mixture to keep it luke warm. You will need this later
Cut the shallots in half across the grain and peel leaving the ends in tact.
Pour a splash of rapeseed oil in a pan on a high heat and add the onion halfs on their cut ends.
Leave onions to sizzle and brown up at their ends. Once they begin to brown add some light chicken stock to deglaze the pan and leave to soften. Once soft and dark at the base remove from heat
For best results, the tomatoes should be made the day before to allow the ingredients to infuse.
The skins need to be removed from the cherry tomatoes. If you have a blow torch direct the flame at the tomatoes until the skin blisters and pops then peel the rest of the skin away by hand. If you don't have a blow torch you can plunge the tomatoes in to boiling water for 30 seconds, then plunge them straight in to ice cold water and they will peel quite easily.
Once the tomatoes are peeled, place in to an airtight jar
Pour a splash of rapeseed oil in to a frying pan on a medium heat.
Slice the whole bulb of smoked garlic in half so you can see a cross section and place them face down.
Once the top half of the garlic has turned golden brown on the underside you can remove it from the heat. The cloves should pop out when pushed.
The bottom half of the garlic may need to stay in longer and cook on the other side too before easily popping out
Take the jar of tomatoes and add the garlic cloves, the parsley, thyme, Droitwich Smoked Salt and top up with extra virgin rapeseed oil. Seal the lid and give it a swish around to allow the contents to combine. Any remaining tomatoes and garlic should keep in this oil for up to a week if kept closed and in the fridge.
Cut the fennel in the thick slices and place in medium heat frying pan with a little of the oil. Cook until golden then remove from the pan and rest. Next cut the pak choi in half and put in same pan until golden. Then put the fennel back in the pan with the pak choi and use some more of the chicken stock to deglaze the pan to quickly soften the vegetables for a few moments. Remove all from the pan and rest on a plate
Take around 8 oz (or 225g) of the resting hollandaise sauce and place in the blender. Take the jacket potato out of the oven. Open the potato and scoop out the soft insides and add to the hollandaise sauce. Blend until creamy.
Open your packet of Macneil's Smoked Duck Breast. Heating the duck is optional as it is already cooked and ready to eat. If you choose to heat the duck place it in an oven proof pan, skin side down, and put in the preheated oven on a high heat to crisp up the outside without drying out the inside. Ten minutes should be sufficient. When ready slice in to two portions
Paste a good couple of tablespoons of the potato hollandaise on to your dish, add the fennel, smoked duck and pak choi.
Squeeze the ends of the shallot halves so that the layers separate in to tubes. Place these on end around the dish. Then place tomatoes, garlic and herbs from the jar around the dish and the dish is ready to serve.
