Recipe - Roast Duck Breast With Sage And Onion Puree

1 pound New potatoes
Salt and Pepper
3 Sprigs of Sage
2 Duck Breasts
2 md Onions
Olive oil
10 fl Milk

Boil the potatoes in their skins until tender in plenty of salted water
with two of the sprigs of sage. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/400F/200C.

Heat a dry frying pan suitable for the oven (or a roasting tin) over a high
heat until very hot. Place the duck breasts, fat side down, in the oven for
two minutes until the fat starts to run. Season the top fatless sides with
salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 2 minutes and then transfer to the
oven and roast for a further 10 minutes. Turn the oven off, open the door
and leave the duck breasts on the edge to rest for 10 minutes.

Peel and chop the onions as finely as possible. Saute in three tablespoons
of olive oil for 10 minutes without browning. Meanwhile remove the sprigs
of sage, discard and mash the potatoes. Add the potatoes to the onions
along with the milk, beating all the time. When you reach a suitably runny
consistency, season with salt and pepper and stir in a teaspoon of chopped
sage leaves. Add more sage to taste and serve with the duck, cut into
slices. I serve this with french beans but you could also use broccoli.

Source: Hugo Arnold, Evening Standard, London, UK

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini