Duck breasts with tomatoes, jalapeños and green olives

Name: Duck breasts with tomatoes, jalapeños and green olives
Yield: Serves 4-5

Serves 4-5
Takes 15 minutes to make, 1 hour 10 minutes to cook, plus at least 2 hours salting

Masterchef winner Thomasina Mier’s spicy duck recipe is perfect for a relaxed dinner with friends.

(BASED ON 5)

Ingredients

2 medium duck breasts (about 240g each)
2 tbsp duck fat, lard or olive oil, plus extra for brushing the skin
5 small banana shallots or 2 large ones, sliced
6 garlic cloves, crushed
2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes
Small bunch each of fresh thyme and marjoram, roughly chopped
50g pickled jalapeño chillies, roughly chopped (the delicious. food team used Discovery Extra Hot, widely available)
Good pinch of brown sugar
250-300ml good-quality chicken or duck stock
100g green olives, stoned and roughly chopped
2-3 bay leaves
100ml reposado tequila (or use any tequila available)
Steamed rice to serve

2 medium duck breasts (about 240g each)
2 tbsp duck fat, lard or olive oil, plus extra for brushing the skin
5 small banana shallots or 2 large ones, sliced
6 garlic cloves, crushed
2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes
Small bunch each of fresh thyme and marjoram, roughly chopped
50g pickled jalapeño chillies, roughly chopped (the delicious. food team used Discovery Extra Hot, widely available)
Good pinch of brown sugar
250-300ml good-quality chicken or duck stock
100g green olives, stoned and roughly chopped
2-3 bay leaves
100ml reposado tequila (or use any tequila available)
Steamed rice to serve

Season the duck breasts well with salt and pepper, then leave in the fridge overnight, covered, or for at least 2 hours (see Know-how). Before cooking, bring to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Heat the fat in a large pan, add the shallots and garlic and fry gently over a medium heat for 10 minutes until the shallots are soft. Add the tomatoes, herbs and chillies, season well with salt, pepper and a good pinch of brown sugar and simmer for 20 minutes, breaking up the plum tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Add the stock, olives, bay leaves and tequila, turn up the heat a little and reduce the sauce for a further 30 minutes or until it has thickened slightly and turned glossy.
Score the skin of the duck breasts and brush with oil. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a high heat and, when it’s smoking hot, cook the duck breasts skin-side down for 5-7 minutes or until the skin is really crisp. Turn and cook for a further 4-5 minutes on the other side then transfer to a roasting tin. Cook in the oven for 5 minutes. Add any fat from the frying pan to the sauce.
Remove the duck and rest, covered in foil, for 8 minutes to allow the juices to run back into the meat. When the breasts have rested, thinly slice and add any cooking juices to the sauce. Serve the slivers of meat over some of the hot sauce with steamed rice.

Season the duck breasts well with salt and pepper, then leave in the fridge overnight, covered, or for at least 2 hours (see Know-how). Before cooking, bring to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Heat the fat in a large pan, add the shallots and garlic and fry gently over a medium heat for 10 minutes until the shallots are soft. Add the tomatoes, herbs and chillies, season well with salt, pepper and a good pinch of brown sugar and simmer for 20 minutes, breaking up the plum tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Add the stock, olives, bay leaves and tequila, turn up the heat a little and reduce the sauce for a further 30 minutes or until it has thickened slightly and turned glossy.
Score the skin of the duck breasts and brush with oil. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a high heat and, when it’s smoking hot, cook the duck breasts skin-side down for 5-7 minutes or until the skin is really crisp. Turn and cook for a further 4-5 minutes on the other side then transfer to a roasting tin. Cook in the oven for 5 minutes. Add any fat from the frying pan to the sauce.
Remove the duck and rest, covered in foil, for 8 minutes to allow the juices to run back into the meat. When the breasts have rested, thinly slice and add any cooking juices to the sauce. Serve the slivers of meat over some of the hot sauce with steamed rice.

Salting the duck well in advance ensures the meat has maximum flavour and retains its juiciness when cooked.
Freeze the sauce in batches and reheat from frozen.
Reposado tequila has been aged in wooden barrels for a while to give it a more complex or smoky character.

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