Roast duck breast with grapes and Hanepoot sauce

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Ingredients

For the Hanepoot sauce
2 T runny honey
3 T white wine vinegar
½ cup chicken stock
1 t cornflour
2 T brandy
½ cup unsweetened pure Hanepoot grape juice
½ cup sweet Hanepoot wine
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Lemon juice (if necessary)
1 cup small (or halved if larger) Hanepoot or seedless grapes
For the duck
4 x 200 g duck breast fillets
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Crispy pan-fried or roasted potato chunks, for serving
Watercress or wild rocket, to garnish

Cooking Instructions

First make the sauce. Stir the honey and vinegar together in a small, heavy saucepan.

Boil until syrupy and a good caramel colour. Remove from the heat and add the stock, stirring continually. Mix the cornflour and brandy to a smooth paste and stir into the sauce. Still stirring, simmer until it comes to the boil and thickens slightly. Stir in the grape
juice and wine and bring to the boil.

Simmer for 5 minutes until slightly reduced. Season to taste. Check that the sauce is pleasantly sweet and sour, adding lemon juice if necessary.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Prick the skin of the duck breasts. Pour boiling water over them, then drain. Slowly brown the skin in a pan on the hob, then turn and briefly brown the other side. Remove from the pan and keep the fat for another use. Season to taste.

Place the duck in a roasting pan and spoon over the sauce and grapes. Roast for 15 minutes until medium rare. Serve with the potatoes and rocket.

Cook’s note: The tawny-speckled Hanepoot grape is only available in late summer, so I use a seedless variety the rest of the season.

Win a copy of The Great South African Cookbook This recipe is featured in The Great South African Cookbook, a one-of-a-kind collection of dishes that covers the full range of South Africans’ palates.