Ingredients:
- 2 Duck Breasts
- 600ml Chicken Stock
- 6 Juniper berries
- 6 Peppercorns(pink, green and black)
- 10g cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 3-4 handfuls spinach, wilted ( to serve – optional)
Method:
Heat the oven to 200C. Put a small roasting tray in the oven to heat up.
Put the stock in a small pan. Slightly crush the juniper berries and add them to the stock along with the peppercorns. Simmer over a medium heat until reduced by two-thirds.
Prepare the duck: score the fat on easch breast by cutting across it with a sharp knife, taking care not to cut through to the meat. Season with salt. Put a heavy frying pan on the hob over a medium heat. Add the duck breasts to the pan, skin side down. Allow to sear for 10 minutes or so on a medium heat until nicely brown and a lot of fat has been released. Turn the breasts over and cook for 1 minute. Remove the duck from the pan and tranfer to the pre-heated roasting tray. (You can keep the fat for roasting potatoes). Roast in the oven for 6-10 minutes, depending on the size of the breasts – it should still be pink. When cooked, remove from the pan and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
While the duck is resting, finish the sauce. Strain the sauce into a jug and discard the berries and peppercorns. Return the sauce to the pan and return to the heat. Add the butter a cube at a time and whisk into the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
To serve, slice each breast into 6 slices on the diagonal and serve on a bed of wilted spinach. Spoon over the sauce.