Duck Breasts with Dry-Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Watercress & Balsamic Prunes & Onions

Ingredients
6 tablespoons olive oil
4 onions, thinly sliced
1½ cups pitted prunes
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 purple-skinned sweet potatoes, well scrubbed
4 duck breasts, skin cut almost down to the flesh in a criss-cross pattern
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 handfuls watercress sprigs

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Heat 4 tablespoons of the oil in a frying pan over moderate heat, add the onions and prunes, and fry gently, without browning, for about 20 minutes until the onions and prunes are very soft. Remove from the heat, stir in the balsamic vinegar, taste and season with salt and pepper. Reserve.

Place the whole sweet potatoes in a roasting dish and roast in the oven for 1 hour until tender.

Meanwhile, put the duck in a bowl with the garlic and remaining oil. Heat a frying pan over moderate heat and add the duck breasts, skin side down. Gently panfry for 7 minutes until well browned. Turn over and fry for 4 minutes on the flesh side.

Remove from the pan and rest the duck in a warm place. Slice each breast thinly across the grain of the meat.

Slice the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise and serve the sliced duck on the hot sweet potatoes with some of the onion and prune mixture, and some watercress on the side.

Serves 4-6.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Tofu, Nori & Walnut Butter

This Japanese-inspired dish may sound strange but the three components – baked sweet potatoes, grilled marinated tofu and whipped butter – add up to a rich dish, which can be served as a first course, or add a salad for a vegetarian meal or light lunch. Carnivores can use chicken breast and the same marinade instead of tofu.

Ingredients
6 small orange sweet potatoes, well washed
600g tofu in blocks
3 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
4 tablespoons sake
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1½ sheets nori
150g butter, softened but not melted
¼ cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
salt to taste
3 tablespoons soy bean oil

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the kumara on a baking tray and bake for 1 hour until very tender when pierced with a skewer. Remove from the oven.

Meanwhile, wrap the tofu in 4 layers of paper towels, rest 2 plates on top and set aside for 30 minutes. This will squeeze out some of the moisture so it will be firmer and easier to handle.

Remove the towels and dice the tofu into 3cm cubes. Place in a shallow glass, china or stainless steel dish just big enough to hold it.

Put the honey, soy, sake and garlic in a small saucepan and warm, stirring, until the honey dissolves. Cool then pour over the tofu. Marinate, turning occasionally, for 15 minutes.

Toast the nori by quickly dragging it across a very low gas flame or electric element until fragrant and beginning to shrivel and become crisp. Slice into very thin strips with scissors.

Place 3⁄4 of the nori (reserve the remainder for garnish) and the butter in a food processor and process until well whipped. Stir in the walnuts. Taste and season with salt if necessary. Place in a bowl and reserve.

Remove the tofu from the marinade, discarding the garlic. Grill over low to moderate heat on an oiled grill or barbecue, brushing occasionally with the leftover marinade, for about 3-4 minutes each side until well browned.

Slice each hot kumara in half lengthwise. Serve the tofu on the flesh side of the kumara with the butter and nori garnish on top. Serves 6.



Enjoy!