Duck ploughman’s with spiced blackberry chutney
Impress your friends with this intriguing twist on a ploughman’s lunch. It’s easy to make, but you’ll need to start 2–3 days ahead. The duck breasts are cured, like ham, and the legs are slowly cooked in duck fat, to be served whole or made into rillettes. Serve with good bread and a sharp sheep’s cheese.
Ingredients
For the cured duck
- 2 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 300²µ/10½´Ç³ú rock salt
- 200g/7oz demerara sugar
- 2 tsp five-spice powder
- 1 orange, zest only
- 4 duck breasts
For the confit duck
- 4 duck legs
- 500g/1lb 2oz duck fat
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 4 black peppercorns
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 2–3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the spiced blackberry chutney
- 1kg/2lb 4oz blackberries
- 4 red onions, diced
- 2 apples, peeled and diced
- 600g/1lb 5oz caster sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 red chilli, finely sliced
- 200ml/7fl oz white wine vinegar
To serve
- bread
- sharp sheep’s cheese, such as Berkswell
- fresh blackberries
Method
For the cured duck, toast the fennel and coriander seeds in a small dry frying pan, then grind to a fine powder. Put the rock salt, sugar, five-spice powder, ground spices and orange zest in a blender or food processor and blitz briefly. Place about half of the mixture in a small tray (just large enough to hold the duck breasts in a single layer). Score the skin of the duck breasts and lay them skin-side down on the salt mixture, then pack the remaining salt mixture on top. Cover and leave in the fridge for at least 48 hours and up to 3 days. When ready, the meat will have a cured ham-like texture and the colour will have changed.
To make the confit duck, preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas 3.
Put the duck legs into a small roasting tin and add the duck fat, garlic, peppercorns and herbs, ensuring the fat covers the duck. Cover with foil and cook in the oven for around 2 hours, until the meat is falling off the bone.
To serve the legs whole, pat them with kitchen paper to remove excess fat. To make duck rillettes, shred the meat from the bones and stir through enough of the reserved fat to bind together. Season to taste.
To make the blackberry chutney, put all the ingredients into a large, heavy-based pan over a medium heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 30–40 minutes, until all the liquid is gone. Pour into sterilised jars.
To serve, rinse the salt off the cured duck breasts and pat dry with kitchen paper. Thinly slice the cured duck and arrange on a large board with the hot confit legs (or rillettes), bread, cheese, blackberries and chutney.
Recipe Tips
Keep any excess duck fat in the fridge: it’s great for roasting potatoes.
You will make enough blackberry chutney to fill four 200ml/7fl oz jars. It will keep, unopened, in a cool, dark place for a couple of months.