Pan-roasted duck breasts with exotic mushrooms

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Ingredients

For the mushrooms:
300 g shiitake mushrooms
300 g mixed exotic mushrooms
3 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the duck:
2–4 duck breast fillets (100 g each), at room temperature
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
230 g Tenderstem broccoli
200 g Woolworths fioretto spears
120 g mange tout
1 T olive oil
For the dressing, whisk:
2 T pomegranate molasses
2 T lemon juice
½ cup chicken stock

Cooking Instructions

To make the mushrooms, preheat the oven to 160°C. Brush the mushrooms clean, trim and tear into pieces if large or leave whole if small. Turn onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Mix with the oil, garlic and some salt, spreading them out to make sure that they don’t steam. Place on a rack above the middle of the oven. Bake while pan-roasting the duck.

Place the duck breasts in a bowl, prick all over and pour over boiling water. Drain and dry. Place skin-side down in a non-stick pan over a low heat and slowly pan-roast until the fat renders and the skin is golden and crisp. Flip and quickly seal the other side. Season with salt and black pepper.

Pour the fat out of the pan (keep for roasting potatoes another time). Wipe the pan clean using kitchen paper. Pour in the dressing. Bring to a bubble and simmer for 1–2 minutes. Set aside.

When the duck is ready, increase the oven’s temperature to 220°C. Place the browned duck on top of the mushrooms – skin-side up – and roast for 5 minutes. Remove and rest for 5 minutes, leaving the mushrooms to roast for a further 5 minutes.

Steam the broccoli, fioretto and mange tout until just tender but still crisp and bright green. Toss in olive oil and spoon onto a platter. Spoon the mushrooms over the greens and top with the duck. Serve the dressing on the side.

Cook's note: Duck is always on my menu: slow-cooked legs in winter and pan-roasted breasts in summer. The variety of exotic mushrooms available made a new version irresistible.