Sergey Savenko · Kyiv, Ukraine

Duck Breast with Cherry Sauce and Dried Fruit

Time1 h
LevelEasy
Chicken and duck
Duck Breast with Cherry Sauce and Dried Fruit

A beautifully seared duck fillet, tender and flavorful, is served with a medley of roasted potatoes, seasonal vegetables, and a luscious cherry sauce. The sweetness of dried fruits contrasts with the duck’s deep umami taste, while the cherry sauce adds a touch of tartness, bringing perfect balance to the dish. This elegant yet comforting meal is ideal for special occasions or a luxurious dinner at home

Adapted for a home kitchen by our editors from Sergey Savenko's restaurant recipe. Sergey Savenko sears duck breast, finishes it in the oven with garlic, thyme and rosemary, and serves it sliced over potatoes, sweet pepper and beans fried in olive oil, with a blended sauce of red wine, cherries and demi-glace and a garnish of dried fruit poached in wine. The original is written for one plate and says only 'cook in the oven until prepared'. The home version is scaled to four and spells out how to render the skin in a cold pan, the oven time and the temperature for pink duck; demi-glace, which few shops sell, is replaced with reduced beef stock, and the dried fruit gets amounts and a method. Not yet tested from this page.

Ingredients

Method

  1. Take the duck out of the fridge 20 minutes before cooking.
  2. Score the skin in a criss-cross pattern every 1 cm, cutting through the fat but not into the meat.
  3. Pat the breasts dry and season them all over with salt and pepper.
  4. Simmer the dried fruit with the wine and sugar in a small saucepan for 10 minutes, until plump and glossy; set aside.
  5. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 10–12 minutes, until just tender, then drain and cut them into wedges.
  6. Boil the beef stock in the second small saucepan until only about 2 tbsp is left.
  7. Add the wine, cherries and sugar to the reduced stock and simmer for 8–10 minutes, until the cherries are soft and the liquid has reduced by about a third.
  8. Blend the sauce smooth with the stick blender.
  9. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and simmer for 30 seconds, until glossy; season with a pinch of salt and keep warm.
  10. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
  11. Lay the duck skin side down in the cold ovenproof frying pan and set it over medium heat.
  12. Cook for 8–10 minutes, pouring the melted fat into the heatproof bowl from time to time, until the skin is deep golden and crisp.
  13. Turn the breasts, add the garlic, thyme and rosemary and sear the meat side for 1 minute.
  14. Put the pan in the oven for 4–6 minutes, until a thermometer in the thickest part reads 54–57°C (129–135°F) for pink.
  15. Rest the duck skin side up on a board for 5–8 minutes.
  16. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil or 3 tbsp of the duck fat in the large frying pan over medium-high heat and fry the potato wedges for 6–8 minutes, until golden.
  17. Add the pepper and beans and fry for 4–5 minutes, until just tender.
  18. Add the garlic for the last minute and season with salt and pepper.
  19. Slice each duck breast across into 1 cm slices.
  20. Spoon the vegetables into warm deep plates, lay the duck on top and pour the cherry sauce around.
  21. Finish with a small pile of the poached dried fruit.
What we changed for home
  • Duck method written out: skin scored, rendered slowly from a cold pan, then roasted at 180°C (350°F) to 54–57°C (129–135°F) and rested The original gives no heat, time or doneness. Starting skin side down in a cold pan melts the thick fat layer so the skin crisps instead of staying rubbery.
  • Demi-glace replaced with 100 ml beef stock boiled down to 2 tbsp, or 1 tbsp store-bought demi-glace Demi-glace is a restaurant reduction of veal stock; reduced stock gives the sauce the same savoury depth.
  • 'Black-eyed pea' read as green beans or yardlong beans The method cuts them in half and fries them, which fits fresh green pods; black-eyed peas are dried beans.
  • Dried fruit given as 100 g, poached for 10 minutes in 100 ml red wine with 1 tbsp sugar The method mentions dried fruit boiled in wine and sugar, but the list has no amounts.
  • Sauce sugar set at 40 g for four instead of 60 g, adjusted to taste Four times the chef's 15 g makes a very sweet sauce with ripe cherries; taste and add more if your cherries are sour.
  • Potatoes boiled, then fried with the vegetables Boiling first means the wedges are soft inside and only need browning.

The dish in the photograph was cooked by the restaurant for this story. Photo: Oleksandr Slyadnyev.

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