Duck Breasts in Limoncello Sauce
This was the main course that I served at Christmas, very easy to prepare and cook and a really lovely dish taken from Gino d'Campo 'Fantastico!'.
The flavour of the Limoncello sauce works really well with the duck breasts. Don't forget to rest the duck before slicing to allow the meat to relax.
I served the duck on a bed of salad leaves and mint and scattered over some pomegranate seeds.
This recipe serves 6, but I cooked 2 duck breasts which was enough for 2 adults and 2 children.
Ingredients:
6 duck breasts (about 180g each)
4 tbsp olive oil
Handful of fresh mint leaves and salad leaves to serve
Pomegranate seeds (opt)
For the sauce:
120g salted butter
2 tablespoons mixed peppercorns
200ml Limoncello
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
300ml chicken stock
Salt and pepper
Method:
Place the duck breasts in a large bowl and use your hands to rub in the olive oil with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 200 C/400 F or gas mark 6 and set a dry griddle pan to heat on the hob. Place the oiled breasts on the hot griddle, skin-side down first and seal for about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to a roasting tin and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes until the skin is crisp on the outside but pink in the middle.
Remove from the oven, cover with foil and leave to rest for a couple of minutes before slicing each duck breast on the diagonal into four.
For the sauce:
Melt half the butter in a large frying pan, add the peppercorns and cook over a medium heat for 1 minute. Add in the Limoncello with the lemon zest and juice and simmer, uncovered until reduced by half. Add the chicken stock, season and continue to cook for about 8 minutes until the sauce is reduced by half. Add the remaining butter to the sauce and stir with a wooden spoon until you create a creamy texture.
On a large plate, scatter the salad leaves and mint leaves, lay the slices of duck over the salad and drizzle over the sauce, garnish with more mint and pomegranate and serve.
I served this with dauphinoise potatoes and roasted root vegetables.
Enjoy!
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