Friday

HOISIN DUCK PANCAKES

-

Serves 4 INGREDIENT­S

4 duck breasts (skin on; total 600g) 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder A good pinch of sea salt

HOISIN SAUCE

6 tablespoon­s tamari

3 tablespoon­s tahini or smooth nut/seed butter

1½ tablespoon­s maple syrup

3 tablespoon­s orange juice

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil 1½ teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder TO SERVE

12 small Chickpea Wraps (– made plain, with no additions, and warmed through), or any wraps of your choice

Chilli flakes, to taste

1 cucumber, sliced into matchstick­s

6 spring onions, sliced into matchstick­s

METHOD

Preheat the oven to fan 200°C/Gas mark 7. With a sharp knife, score the fat of each duck breast in a crisscross pattern, then sprinkle over half the five-spice powder and salt and rub in. 3. Make the hoisin sauce by whisking all the ingredient­s together in a bowl, then taste for seasoning and set aside.

Heat a wide, ovenproof frying pan to a high heat (no oil needed) and place duck breasts, skin side down, in pan. Sprinkle over the rest of the spice and salt. Cook for 3 minutes or until most of the fat has rendered, and the duck skin is golden. Turn the duck breasts over and cook for a further 30 seconds to seal the other side. Place the pan in the oven for the duck to finish cooking – 8 minutes for rare or 10 minutes for medium rare – then remove the duck and leave to rest on a chopping board for 10 minutes. Use this time to make the chickpea batter and, while the duck is resting, use the same pan to make the wraps.

Pour any excess duck fat from pan into a bowl. Cut the duck breasts into thin slices, sprinkle with chilli flakes and place on a serving plate with the hoisin sauce in a bowl. Put the chickpea wraps on another plate and place the sliced cucumber and spring onions in a separate bowl. Let everyone assemble their own pancakes, pouring or spooning the hoisin sauce over the duck before adding the other ingredient­s.

USE IT UP

Duck and orange go so well together, but if you don’t have an orange, use 2 tablespoon­s of lemon juice in the hoisin sauce instead. Save the duck fat for frying vegetables.

FOR THE PANCAKES

Makes 8 medium or 12 small wraps

INGREDIENT­S

250g chickpea flour

350ml warm water

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

1½ tablespoon­s coconut oil or ghee 2 tablespoon­s za’atar or 2 teaspoons harissa spices (or to taste)

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling (optional)

METHOD

Whisk together the chickpea flour, water and salt and pepper and leave to sit for 10 minutes. Melt 1 teaspoon of the oil in a medium-sized frying pan over a high heat. Add 3 tablespoon­s of the batter to the frying pan, swirling it around to cover the base, and cook for 1½ minutes, sprinkling over the za’atar or harissa, then flip over and cook on the other side for another 30 seconds.

Tip the wrap onto a plate, making sure you remove any excess bits from the pan or they’ll burn when you cook the next wrap, and repeat – adding a little more of the oil each time – until you have used all the batter. Use two pans for speedier results.

 ??  ?? While it would be impossible to recreate true Chinese-style duck at home, this version comes with a big thumbs-up from my family. It uses duck breasts, and quick pancakes made with chickpea (or gram) flour. The best thing about the recipe is the hoisin...
While it would be impossible to recreate true Chinese-style duck at home, this version comes with a big thumbs-up from my family. It uses duck breasts, and quick pancakes made with chickpea (or gram) flour. The best thing about the recipe is the hoisin...

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Arab Emirates