A sweet and spicy sauce goes perfectly with crisp duck. It must be noted that Denbigh plums are the only variety of plum that is native to Wales. The Denbigh Plum is medium sized (50-65mm) diameter when ripe, with a distinct egg shape. Its colour is orange-red with yellow patches when the plum begins to ripen, but darkening to a rich purple-red, strewn with golden speckles when ripe. The Flesh is firm and of a rich yellow with greenish amber tint. The skin is soft and delicate and to avoid damage and bruising the fruit should be handled with great care. It is an old variety that seems to have originated in a local Carmelite friary orchard in 1270-80.
Prep time 20 minutes/Cook time 25 minutes/Serves: 2
Ingredients:
2 duck breasts
Sea salt and black pepper
1 tbsp of rapeseed oil
2 spring onions, peeled and chopped
250g of Denbigh Plums, halved and pitted
50g raw (muscovado) sugar
50ml of red wine vinegar
100ml black cherry liqueur
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger root, grated
1 star anise
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/355F/Gas Mark 4. With a sharp knife, make slits in the skin of the duck breasts (this helps the fat render) and sprinkle salt and pepper over the skin to taste.
Heat a good-quality frying pan that is suitable for the oven over a high heat, and put the breasts in the pan skin side up. Cook for 5 minutes before turning them and putting them in the oven for another 7-8 minutes to cook them pink, or 10-12 minutes to cook them well done. Remove the pan from the oven and put it somewhere warm for the meat to relax.
In a medium-sized saucepan, fry the onions in the oil until they are soft, then add the plums and sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the vinegar, ginger, liquor, and star anise, and simmer everything for 15 minutes until the sauce has thickened and the plums are cooked.
Slice the duck and serve the meat with the sauce.
