Cooking duck breast couldn’t be easier and my duck breast recipe with chocolate and prune sauce is just delicious.

I love duck; in fact anything that quacks is fine by me and this recipe doesn’t disappoint. Succulent duck breast complimented with a rich velvety prune and red wine sauce with a secret ingredient of dark chocolate.

What makes this duck breast recipe a little different is the addition of the chocolate and prune sauce. The chocolate gives a subtle depth of flavour adding a luxurious feel to the slightly sweet earthy flavour of the prunes. Sophisticated and sexy dish.. I won’t say the obvious joke here…

I like my duck breast to have a lovely crispy skin, with all the fat rendered down so you are left with lots of lovely crispy duck skin hiding a succulent and pink duck meat.

Duck breast Recipe – Ingredients:

2 duck breasts (1pp)

1 shallot roughly chopped

1 clove garlic chopped

Small sprig of rosemary

1 bay leaf

1/3 bottle of red wine (I like a deep south american)

1 level tablespoon of brown sugar

10gms (or 1sqr inch of dark chocolate – I like 70% plus cocoa and usually go for south american (Ecuadorian or Peruvian chocolate works well)

Seasoning

8 soft prunes (2 chopped up, 6 left whole)

Nob of butter

Glug of olive oil

Duck Breast Recipe – Method:

Turn your oven on to 200c fan assisted or 220c normal.

1. Soak 6 of your whole prunes in just enough red wine to cover them (I put mine in a cup).
2. Score the duck breast skin and season with salt and pepper then place skin side down into a cold frying pan and bring to a high heat, once you hear your duck fat starting to sizzle reduce to medium high for about 9 more minutes (you may want to pour away some of the rendered fat as it cooks – pour it into a cup and save for roasting spuds another day!).
3. Turn the duck over to seal the meat then roast in the oven for 10 mins (15 mins for medium). Once done, remove the duck from the pan and rest until the sauce is done.
4. Tip about two tablespoons of the rendered duck fat into a saucepan you cooked the duck in and add a small glug of olive oil; add the chopped shallot and cook for a few minutes, then add the garlic, rosemary, bay and the chopped up prunes, fry for a minute and then add all the wine and the level tablespoon of brown sugar.
5. Reduce the sauce by 2/3 (if the duck has let out some juice add this to the sauce as well).
6. Pass the sauce through a fine sieve, put the cleaned sauce back in the saucepan and on a very low heat add the 6 whole prunes and about 1 square inch of dark chocolate chopped up and a small nob of butter (about a level tablespoon). Let the butter and chocolate melt slowly into your sauce to avoid splitting. Season and taste.

You are aiming for just a subtle hint of chocolate, sweet yet tangy with the flavour of wine. If too sweet add a touch more seasoning or more sugar if not sweet enough.

Serve up by slicing each duck breast and positioning three whole prunes per person and plenty of sauce (probably more than in my picture! Or serve extra on the side).

Goes well with blanched spinach and rosemary roasted new potatoes and an ‘oooh ain’t that pretty’ from your guests…