Welcome to Mum&sons

My two eldest boys challenged me to start a cooking blog with simple recipes that we can cook together - and my youngest one has now joined in. I am hoping they pick up some cooking and photograph skills... or that at least they learn to design and run a blog.


DUCK BREAST

Duck is always a winner with my children. Best if roasted and served with chinese pancakes and shop bought plum sauce.  But this recipe with duck breast is a big success too and  it is very easy to make.

You need:
-two duck breasts
- 1.5 onions (diced thinly)
- 250 gr red berries (either fresh or frozen)
- 100 ml red wine
- 20 ml balsamic vinegar
- 150 ml water
- a table spoon of honey
- two tablespoons of olive oil
- salt

First prepare the sauce: fry the onion in the olive oil until it is soft (12 minutes, firt medium and then low heat) Add the red fruit, a pinch of salt and the honey . After two minutes add the wine and vinegar and after another two minutes add the water. Let it all simmer for 20 minutes so that it reduces by half. Then blend it (I like this with the pips in, but if you prefer it smooth - as my children do-  then sift the sauce through a colander). If you prefer it sweeter then just add a bit more honey…simple!

For the duck, score the fat in a diamond shape and addsalt. Heat a grilling pan until it is almost smokey, put the duck on the pan (fat size down), reduce the heat to medium and let the fat melt for 8 minutes. Turn the breast around and cook for a further 5 minutes while pouring the liquid fat on top. Get rid of the fat and serve the breast cut in diagonal slices.  

You can serve this with raw apple slices (slice them very thinly and sprinkle them with lime juice) or put the apples in a pan with a tablespoon of butter and let them fry for a couple of minutes over medium heat (this is what my children prefer and therefor what you see in the picture). You can also serve it with a lentils salad  (mix a tin of lentils with a handful of chopped parsley, a handful of mint, a handful of basil, a handful of coriander, the juice and grated zest of half a lemon, salt, pepper and two tablespoons of olive oil; toss it all together)