Lilly Higgins: Duck breast with turnip and golden beetroot ketchup

Serves: 4
Course: Main Course
Cooking Time: 0 hr 35 mins
Ingredients
  • 500g beetroot, scrubbed and cubed
  • 1 tart eating apple, peeled, cored and cubed
  • ½ small red onion
  • 1 inch or 25g of fresh ginger, finely chopped
  • ½tsp Chinese Five Spice
  • 150ml apple cider vinegar
  • 4 duck breasts
  • 1 turnip, peeled and cut into chunky chips
  • Olive oil for cooking
  • Sea salt

To make the ketchup, place the cubed beetroot in a small pan and barely cover with water.

Bring to the boil and simmer until just cooked, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat a tsp of olive oil and sauté the onion and ginger till soft, return the beetroot to the pan with the apple, vinegar and Chinese Five Spice.

Place the lid on and simmer for about 15 minutes – until the apples have disintegrated and the beetroot is fully cooked.

Leave to cool slightly before blitzing until completely smooth. Place in a bowl or jar to serve.

This can be done the day before and kept in the fridge. It will keep for at least two weeks in a sealed container.

Turnip chips and duck breasts

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Drizzle very little olive oil over the turnip chips on a large baking tray. You’ll be adding duck fat soon so use the bare minimum oil. Place in the oven to roast for 25 minutes.

Season the duck breasts with salt and pepper. Place a non-stick frying pan over a high heat.

Once hot, place the duck breasts fat side down and leave the fat render out and the duck gain some colour and crisp up for about 6-7 minutes.

Set the duck breasts aside and pour the resulting fat over the turnip chips and turn to coat. Make a little space on the tray and place the duck breasts on it.

Finish roasting for a further 5-7 minutes until the turnip chips are golden at the edges and the duck is cooked through but still a little pink.

Leave to rest for five minutes.

To serve, slice the duck and arrange on each plate with the chips and a dollop of beetroot ketchup.

Lilly Higgins

Lilly Higgins

Lilly Higgins, a contributor to The Irish Times, is a food writer