Mango Tree D.C. Chef Paul Kennedy shares the recipe for cherry-glazed duck breast, plum, apricot and cherry tomatoes with red curry sauce and Thai basil. (Serves two.)
Ingredients (Serves 2):
2 x 8 oz. Duck breast
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Cherry glaze:
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and halved
½ cup red wine
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
½ tbsp white sugar
½ tbsp orange zest
Red curry sauce:
2 tbsp red curry paste
2 cups coconut milk
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp palm sugar
Salt and pepper to season
8-10 pieces dried apricot
2 fresh plums, stone removed and diced
10 pieces cherry tomato, cut in half
1 piece Thai birds eye red chili, cut in half
1 piece red fresno chili, thinly sliced
20 leaves Thai basil
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Method
Cherry glaze:
- Place the cherries, red wine, red wine vinegar, sugar and orange zest into a heavy bottom pan
- Place onto stove, medium heat, bring to boil and reduce heat to a simmer
- Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the liquid has started to become thick
- If not using straight away, leave to cool and place into a container into fridge
Red curry sauce:
- Place a heavy bottom pan onto stove at medium heat and add a little oil
- Add the red curry paste and cook until fragrant, 3-5 minutes
- Add the coconut milk, turn up the heat and bring to boil
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes until started to thicken
- Season with salt, pepper, fish sauce and palm sugar…the sauce be sweet, slightly salty and slightly spicy
- Once the sauce is ready, add the apricots, plums, Thai chili and fresno chili….do not add the basil at this stage
- Bring to boil again and reduce to simmer for 5 minutes, this will rehydrate the apricots and soften the plums
To serve the dish:
- Using a sharp knife, make small slices on the duck fat, do not go all the way through to the meat
- Remove any excess fat
- Place a pan onto the stove at medium heat and place the duck breast, fat side down, in the pan….you will not need any oil as the fat will start to render and produce oil
- Cook skin side down for 8-10 minutes
- Turn the duck over and cook for a further 6 minutes
- Remove from the pan and leave to rest for 10 minutes
- Re-heat the curry sauce and glaze
- Add the Thai basil leaves into the red curry sauce
- On two plates, evenly spoon out the red curry sauce
- Slice the duck breasts into 6-8 pieces each and lay on top of the plums and apricots
- Drizzle some the juice from the glaze on the duck breasts and spoon the cherries on top of the duck
- Serve with steamed jasmine rice