Duck with Rhubarb Beet and Asian Greens

Duck with Rhubarb Beet and Asian Greens
(Gavin Sutherland recipe)

Our fourth food and wine pairing in this series is the 2019 Alcazar Castle Pinot Noir which another_food_blogger has matched with a beautiful dish of Duck with rhubarb beet and asian greens.  I personally love this pairing of duck with Pinot Noir, the sweet and the savoury, such a perfect match.  This tightly layered wine with soft long tannins support a stunning complex facade of pure pinot primary flavours, from blackberry fruits to cherry and wild strawberries, herbs and lavendar.

Enjoy.

serves 4

Ingredients

Duck breast x 4 – 180g each
Chinese 5 spice x 2 tbsp

Greens

Buk choy x 2 bunches
Pak choy x 2 bunch
Olive oil x 1 tbsp
Soy Sauce x 1 tbsp
Water x 1 tbsp
Sesame seeds

Ketchup

Rhubarb x 300g
Pre-cooked beetroot x 150g
Ginger x 1” piece
Sugar x 50g
Anise x 1
Red onion x ½
Olive oil x 1 tbsp
Red wine vinegar x 30ml
Clove x 1

Method

Ketchup

1. Dice the onion, garlic, rhubarb & beets *see tips*
2. Cook the onion & garlic with oil on medium heat until softened – approx. 2/3 minutes
3. Add rhubarb & a pinch of salt and cook until mushy – approx. 5 minutes
4. Blend spices and add to rhubarb along with pre-cooked beets, sugar & vinegar and cook for a further 5 minutes
5. Blend until smooth and pass through a sieve to remove any lumps
6. Can be served hot or cold

Duck

1. Heat oven to 180c
2. Score the skin of the duck gently with a knife, being careful not to cut the flesh *see tips*
3. Rub in 5 spice and season generously with salt
4. In a cold frying pan on low heat place duck skin side down and cook for 8 minutes undisturbed
5. Flip the duck and cook for a further 2 minutes
6. Place the duck on a baking tray with a wire rack and cook in the oven for a further 3/4 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 52c
7. Drain rendered duck fat, wipe out frying pan with kitchen cloth and set aside *see Asian greens*
8. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 8 minutes before slicing

Asian Greens

1. Slice the chunky root from the end of the greens and discard
2. Using a frying pan (that you have a lid for) cook greens in 1 tbsp rendered duck fat for 1 minute
3. Add soy sauce and water and cover with lid. Cook for a further minute shaking pan a little to mix up the greens/liquid
4. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve

Essential Tools

• Chef knives
• Chopping board
• Measuring utensils
• Food processor/blender
• Sieve
• Baking tray
• Wire rack
• Frying pan w/ lid

Tips/Tricks

• I used the pre-cooked beets that you can buy in most grocery stores – a little bit of a cheat but it speeds up the process by about an hour 😉
• Scoring the skin of the duck allows for the fat to render out easier and therefore will help cook the fat. Careful not to cut into the flesh of the duck as this will speed up the cooking time or leave you with overcooked duck
• You can use the same pan for the duck & the greens provided you can pop a lid on top. If you don’t have a lid for the pan you can put another pan on top or even a baking tray. This helps to steam the veg
• Resting your meat – I can’t stress how important this is. The juices need to re-distribute once cooked and if you cut into it straight away they will just seep out leaving you with grey overcooked meat