Stuff a Duck!

Wow! Have we been having some great weather down in the South (of the UK), I hope that you are all still Braaiing away and have not become soft and put them away at the first sign of a cloud. Thanks for all the great comments about last weeks Curry, a lot of you have been trying this and I hope that you have enjoyed following us. We had 5 lots of prizes last week and the lucky winners are Geoff Worrall, Jane Phillipson, Jim Bates, Liz Riches-Jones and Linda Tingvoll please email me your delivery addresses and we will get them to you as soon as we can. One thing I ask, please email a photo of your creations so that I can post them on our Facebook page for all to see.

This weeks creation is quick and turned out to be really tasty, for the amount of effort that went in to preparing this dish you will be pleasantly surprised.

Serves 4 - Prep: 10 minutes - Cook Time: 12-16 mins

Method

Preheat the braai to about 200°C (400°F)
Using a sharp knife, cut a long slit in the fleshy side of each duck breast to make a pocket that you will layer the shallots and apricots in. You will then seal the parcel with a skewer
Mix the honey and the sesame oil together in a bowl and brush all over the duck both sides. Then sprinkle with the Chinese five spice all over.
To make the spring onion garnish, cut lengthways down the stem of each on both sides and leave in ice cold water until the tassels open out. Drain well before using.
Cook the duck over a medium heat of 6-8 minutes on each side.
Remove the skewers and cut in half, serve on a bead of rice with the spring onions to garnish.

Ingredients:

4 Duck Breasts (1 per person) you can substitute pork chops if you prefer
155g / 4oz dried apricots
2 Shallots or red onion thinly sliced
2 tbsp clear honey
1 tsp sesame oil (olive if you don't have)
2 tsp Chinese Five-Spice powder (Contains: finely ground Sichuan Pepper, cassia, fennel seed, star anise and cloves)
4 Spring onions to garnish
4 bamboo Skewers (pre soaked in water for 1hr)

The apricots and onions counteract the richness of the duck and its high fat contents make it virtually self-basting so it stays superbly moist and when you garnish it with the spring onion it looks particularly elegant. I served this once again with some steamed rice, I know, I like rice and if you come from SA you eat a lot of it. Give it a try, its quick and tastes as good as it looks. Just don't over cook it, otherwise you might as well cook your flops!