Baked duck breast with cherries and pinot noir sauce

An easy-to-prepare recipe from America that you can make all winter long. The slightly sweet cherry sauce completes the tender duck breast with crispy crust. - TEXT + IMAGE EDITORS

You will need this for 4 people:

• 4 half duck breasts, with skin
• salt and ground black pepper
• 30 g finely chopped shallots
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 240 ml California Pinot Noir
• chicken stock 240ml
• 70 g dried cherries, halved
• 30 g unsalted butter
• long-grain (sweet) white rice

This is how you make it:

Preheat the oven to the lowest temperature. Using a sharp knife, make three long, shallow cuts just through the skin of each half-breast, about 1.3 cm apart. Season generously with salt and pepper. Heat a large, preferably cast-iron frying pan over medium-high heat. Place the duck breasts skin-side down in the pan. Fry for 8 minutes; the skin should be deep golden brown. Turn the pieces of meat over and fry for 3 minutes (for medium red) or longer. Place them in a heatproof dish in the oven to keep warm.

Remove all but 30 ml of the duck fat from the frying pan. Put on medium-high heat and add the shallot and garlic. Fry for 1 minute, stirring, until the garlic is lightly browned. Increase the heat to medium-high and pour in the wine and chicken stock. Bring to the boil for 5 minutes to thicken liquid slightly. Add the cherries and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and quickly whisk in the butter. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the duck breasts from the oven and cut diagonally into 1.25 cm slices. Before serving, divide the cooked rice among four plates, spread the duck slices over the rice and spoon the sauce over and around the duck.

This is a recipe from California Wine Institute.

Wondering which wine is best to drink with this recipe? You can read it in WINELIFE Magazine 74. Order this one here!

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