I’ve eaten duck twice in the last week; the first helping was in a Thai restaurant in Soho covered in sesame seeds and wrapped up in pandan leaves, the second was at my grandparent’s house on the staggeringly beautiful and equally time warped South Downs. Two very different dishes in two extremely different locations, but what they both did have in common was that firstly, they were off key delicious, and secondly, the ducks themselves were both reared on the Gressingham estate in Suffolk.
I visited their website and was more than impressed; a family business since its founding in 1971 by Miriam and Maurice Buchanan, it is now run by their two sons William and Geoffrey, both of whom strive to maintain the level of excellence set by their parents. Not only are the ducks raised in the lap of rural luxury, they are the only company in the world licensed to produce the Gressingham breed. The Buchanan brothers really know how to treat their birds well, and I can safely say, of all the breasts I have ever had the pleasure of covering in honey and searing in a thick bottomed skillet, Gressingham produce the finest of all.
The remaining ingredients were to be found in Grandmama’s sizeable vegetable patch, still fully maintained by the woman herself and pumping out a myriad of seasonal trinkets. In the picture are the beetroots, the French beans, the parsnips, and my sister’s Jack Russell Archie who tried to maul the neighbour’s cat earlier in the day. Good lad.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
2 Gressingham duck breasts
2 Medium beetroots cut into 1 inch chunks
Handful of French beans, sliced vertically
5 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped
4 tablespoons of clear honey
2 tablespoons of wholegrain mustard
100ml double cream
Butter
Olive oil
Balsamic glaze
Salt and Pepper
1 tspn sugar
Method: (1 hour approx)
Preheat the oven to 230°C
1. Pat the duck breasts dry with kitchen towel and slice lines across the skin horizontally all the way down. In a bowl mix the honey and mustard together and coat the duck in it, making sure to get the mixture right into the cuts you’ve made. Set aside.
2. Tear off a large square of tin foil and create a parcel, whack the beetroots in and season with salt and pepper and a few slugs of olive oil, toss to coat, close the parcel and put it in a baking tray before putting it into the top half of the oven for 40 minutes. Open the parcel and drizzle the balsamic glaze over them before returning them to the oven, parcel open, for another 15 minutes. This will crisp them up and give them a sweeter taste. (When you’ve glazed the beets and put them back in start the duck in phase 4).
3. While the beetroots are in the oven put the parsnips in a saucepan and boil for 10-15 minutes until soft (they should fall off the end of a sharp knife), take off and drain before returning them to the pan, add a knob of butter and the cream and mash thoroughly, add salt and pepper to taste. Parsnips are quite stringy so you won’t be able to push them through a sieve to create the puree, if you have a blender use that. Keep them warm when you’re done mashing / purayin’.
4. Heat a frying pan on a high heat with a little butter and fry the duck breast skin side down for a few minutes until they are crispy and brown, flip them over for 30 seconds before putting them on a baking tray and putting them on the shelf below the beetroots, cook for 15–20 minutes depending on how you like the meat.
5. When the duck in is in the oven boil the beans for 7-10 minutes, strain and add a little butter along with a tspn of sugar and toss them about a bit.
6. To serve put a dollop of the parsnip puree on the plate, slice the duck breast and chuck a few of those on top, beetroots on the side, beans on top, and finally heat the left over honey and mustard briefly and drizzle it over. This whole meal was incredibly rich and sweet, proper Downton Abbey shit.
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