Tonight’s recipe

Duck breasts with blackberries, sage and toasted buckwheat

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 tsp fennel seeds

3 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp coarse salt

6 duck breasts

Olive oil

12 shallots, peeled and left whole

3 tbsp whole sage leaves 300g blackberries

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp yellow mustard seeds 4 tbsp buckwheat

Method

Grind the fennel seeds, cinnamon and salt in a pestle and mortar. The fennel doesn’t need to be as fine as the cinnamon, just broken up a little. Dust all over the duck.

Set a large frying pan over a medium-high heat with a drizzle of oil. Fry the breasts two at a time so you don’t overcrowd the pan. When piping hot, place two breasts fat side down and hold in place for a few seconds so they don’t contract too much. Fry for three minutes, or until the fat is looking well browned, then turn the breast and cook for another three to five minutes, depending on how rare you like your duck and the thickness of the breasts. Remove the duck from the pan to a warm plate and leave to rest while you fry the rest.

When the meat is cooked, turn the heat down and add the shallots. Pop a lid on and leave to cook for 10 minutes, or until the shallots are soft and browned.

Add the sage and blackberries. Cook for two minutes. Then add the balsamic, maple and mustard seeds. Stir well and simmer for a couple of minutes, adding any juices that have leaked from the resting duck back into the pan. Taste and add a little more salt if it needs it, and black pepper.

Meanwhile, toast the buckwheat in a dry pan over a medium heat for about four minutes or until browned and nutty. Watch it doesn’t burn.

To serve, slice the duck thickly and lay on a warm plate. Spoon over the hot sauce and finish with toasted buckwheat. Let everyone dive in.