Ingredients
2 duck breasts, free range – we use Loose Birds of Harome
3 stalks Yorkshire forced rhubarb, roughly diced
350ml Yorkshire cider (we use Orchards of Husthwaite near Thrisk)
150ml chicken stock (we use TRUEfoods of Melmerby near Ripon)
75g caster sugar or to taste
50ml cider vinegar
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 star anise
200g baby spinach
Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil for frying
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp caster sugar
1 stick Yorkshire rhubarb, whole
Method
- To make the confit, put the rhubarb, cider, chicken stock, caster sugar, cider vinegar, grated ginger and star anise into a large pan. Stir well and bring to a simmer, before turning down the heat to its lowest setting, uncovered, for 45-50 minutes. Try not to stir or you’ll break up the rhubarb too much.
- The confit is cooked when the mixture is nice and sticky and there’s barely a tablespoon of liquid left. Remember to remove the star anise before serving.
- For the ‘spaghetti’ peel the rhubarb surface so you have pink strips and cut lengthways with a sharp knife before adding to the lemon juice. Add some seasoning and the 2 tsps of caster sugar and allow to pickle.
- For the duck, preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4 and cook the breasts in a frying pan, skin side down until a light golden brown. Put the duck in the oven for 8-12 minutes, checking that the skin doesn’t get too dark. Take out and rest for 5 minutes.
- Put a little rhubarb confit on a warm plate, top with the sliced duck breast and add the ‘spaghetti’ as a garnish.
- Serve with sautéed spinach and dauphinoise potatoes and enjoy!