1 For duck sauce, preheat oven
to 180°C. Roast duck bones in
a roasting pan until browned
(1½ hours). Meanwhile, sauté
shallot, thyme and bay leaf in
butter in a large saucepan
over medium-high heat until
caramelised (6-8 minutes).
Deglaze pan with Marsala and
reduce until almost evaporated
(2-3 minutes). Add chicken stock
and roasted duck bones, bring
to a simmer and cook until
reduced to 500ml (1 hour).
Pass through a fine sieve into
a clean saucepan and season
to taste.
2 Melt butter in a large frying
pan over low-medium heat, add
radicchio cut-side down and
cook, turning once until golden(5-6 minutes each side). Reduce
heat to low and cook until wilted
and tender (5 minutes). Season
to taste and keep warm.
3 Cook duck breasts skin-side
down in a large non-stick
ovenproof frying pan over
low-medium heat until fat is
rendered and skin is crisp
(10-15 minutes). Drain fat into
a container and reserve for
another use (fat will keep
refrigerated in a jar for a month;
it’s great for roasting potatoes).
Transfer pan to oven, keeping
duck breasts skin-side down,
and roast until medium-rare
(3-4 minutes; if your pan is not
ovenproof, transfer duck to
a heated ovenproof tray).
Rest and keep warm.4 Wipe pan clean, then
add hazelnuts and oil. Stir
continuously over high heat to
lightly toast (1 minute), deglaze
pan with vinegar, then add
reserved duck sauce and
simmer for 2-3 minutes.
6 Thickly slice duck breasts and
transfer to plates, pour sauce
over and serve with raddichio.
Note Duck carcasses will need
to be ordered from your butcher.
Wine suggestion 2016 Patrick
Sullivan ‘Amazon’ Pinot Noir,
Yarra Valley, Vic. One of the best
wines Patrick has made, it has
a generous palate of raspberry
and strawberry, savoury spice,
tomato leaf and a lively acidity.Roast duck breast with hazelnut sauce
SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 2½ HRS“Hazelnuts make this dish unique with their fragrance,” says Papadakis.
“It’s a simple dish and making the base sauce in advance makes things
a lot simpler.” At Osteria Ilaria Papadakis uses Italian hazelnuts from
Piedmont, which, he says, have the best flavour. Pictured p122.2 tbsp butter
3 small radicchio heads, outer
leaves removed, halved
6 duck breasts (about
200gm each), fat scored
in a cross-hatch
100 gm roasted hazelnuts,
crushed
50 ml hazelnut oil
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
DUCK SAUCE
2 duck carcasses, or duck
bones, coarsely chopped
(see note)
2 golden shallots, sliced
1 thyme sprig
1 fresh bay leaf
50 gm butter
150 ml Marsala
2 litres (8 cups) chicken stockMackerel tartare, pickled cucumber
and crème fraîche
SERVES 8 // PREP TIME 20 MINS (PLUS CHILLING, PICKLING)“Like with any fish tartare, the freshness of the fish is very important,” says Papadakis.
“Spanish mackerel is an oily fish and requires a little acidity, which comes from the pickles.
We like cucumbers for their freshness but other pickled vegetables could also be used.”
At Osteria Ilaria, Papadakis uses wild garlic rather than herbs in the sauce. Pictured p127.1 kg Spanish mackerel,
skinned and pin-boned
Finely grated rind and juice
of 1 lime
Baby sorrel leaves, to serve
Extra-virgin olive oil,
to serve
BRINE
100 gm fine salt
50 gm caster sugar
PICKLED CUCUMBER
100 ml white wine vinegar
50 gm caster sugar
4 Lebanese cucumbers,
peeled
CRÈME FRAÎCHE SAUCE
250 gm crème fraîche
50 gm mixed soft herbs, such
as chervil, flat-leaf parsley
and dill, finely chopped1 For brine, place salt, sugar
and 200ml in a saucepan and
bring to the boil, stirring to
dissolve salt and sugar. Add
800ml cold water, transfer to a
non-reactive container that will
fit the mackerel and refrigerate
to cool (1 hour). Add mackerel
and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2 For pickled cucumber, bring
vinegar, sugar and 200ml water
to the boil in a saucepan, then
cool to room temperature.
Halve 3 cucumbers, remove
seeds and dice (about 5mm).
Slice remaining cucumber into
very thin rounds. Add both to
liquid and chill to lightly pickle
(at least 1 hour; pickle can be
made a day in advance).3 Remove mackerel from brine
(discard brine), pat dry and dice
(about 5mm). Chill until required.
4 For crème fraîche sauce,
blend ingredients in a food
processor until smooth
(1-2 minutes). Season to
taste with sea salt.
5 Drain cucumber and combine
with mackerel in a bowl. Add
lime rind and juice, and season
to taste. Divide crème fraîche
sauce among plates, top with
tartare and pickled cucumber,
sprinkle with sorrel leaves,
drizzle with olive oil and serve.
Wine suggestion 2015 Pieropan
“Calvarino” Garganega/
Trebbiano, Soave. Calvarino
is famous for being a leanermineral-driven vineyard of
the Pieropan Estate. The 2015
vintage was warm, allowing
the grapes to achieve great
ripeness. This wine has notes
of ripe green apples, stone
fruits, honey and a savoury
finish. A great combination
with the earthy Spanish
mackerel.128 GOURMET TRAVELLER