Duck & Mushroom Pancakes – The perfect pairing this Sunday

There are days when you want to eat something simple and then there are the special ones. These are the days where you want to test your cooking mettle and indulge in something different. We bring you one of those special dishes for breakfast or Sunday brunch. These Duck & Mushroom Pancakes are how you show true love with food.

Don’t be intimidated by the number of steps in this recipe. You can prepare each section in steps and the resting time of the duck at the end is the perfect time to fry the pancakes. The overnight stay of the duck in the fridge helps dry out the skin for absolute crispiness and basting the skin with the duck fat helps this process even more. These Duck & Mushroom Pancakes are rich, tasty and the plum sauce adds a certain freshness and tangy flavour to cut through some of the richness.

However, a rich and indulgent meal needs a cocktail. Pair your Duck & Mushroom Pancakes with the Musgrave Vanilla Brandy Plum Manhattan in the recipe below.

Bring on the celebrations with this delicious recipe. Duck & Mushroom Pancakes with a Musgrave Vanilla Brandy Plum Manhattan, the pairing of the year.

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Duck & Mushroom Pancakes Recipe

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Recipe by South African Mushroom Farmers’ Association Course: MainCuisine: GlobalDifficulty: Medium

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

35

minutes

Overnight marinade

12

minutes

Total time

55

minutes

Ingredients

• PANCAKES

• 300 g flour

• pinch of sea salt

• 250 ml boiling water

• 3 tbsp sesame oil

• PLUM SAUCE

• 6 plums, halved and stoned

• ¼ cup brown sugar

• 1 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tsp sherry vinegar

• DUCK

• 4 medium duck breasts, skin on

• five tsp five-spice powder

• 1 pinch sea salt

• FIVE-SPICE MUSHROOMS

• 250 g portabelllini mushrooms, sliced

• five tsp five-spice powder

• salt and pepper, to taste

• TO SERVE

• 1 cucumber, cut into matchsticks

• 4 spring onions, julienned

• Fresh coriander

• Hoisin sauce

• Musgrave Vanilla Brandy Plum Manhattan

• 50 ml Musgrave Vanilla Brandy

• 25 ml sweet red vermouth

• 2-3 dashes Angostura bitters

• 2-3 slices fresh plum for garnish

Method

• The night before:
• Rub the flesh of the duck breasts with the five-spice and salt.
• Place duck breasts skin side up on a rack on top of a tray and refrigerate overnight to marinate and let the skin dry out.
• The pancakes:
• Mix the flour and salt in a heatproof bowl.
• Pour in the boiling water and mix until a dough forms. Once cool enough to handle, knead the dough until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
• Divide into 18 small balls. Cover with plastic wrap.
• Working with two balls at a time- flatten them into small discs.
• Brush oil on the surface of one disc. Then overlay with the other disc.
• Roll out the two pieces sandwiched together into 20cm pancakes.
• Brush a non-stick frying pan on medium-low heat with a dash of neutral oil and place one pancake into the pan. After a minute, you should see air pockets begin to form between the two pancakes. Flip the pancake until both sides have faint golden brown dots on them.
• Remove the pancake and when cool enough to handle carefully pull the two pancakes apart at the seams. Place finished pancakes onto a plate and cover with a dish cloth.
• For the plum sauce:
• Place all the plum sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Mix and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until the plums are soft, falling apart easily and the sauce is thick.
• Switch off the heat, using a stick blender, blend until smooth. Set aside.
• For the duck:
• Place the breasts skin-side down in a cold cast iron frying pan over a medium-high heat.
• As the duck cooks and the fat renders, tilt the pan towards you and spoon out the excess fat.
• Cook the duck breasts until the skin is deeply golden brown and crisp. At least 10 minutes.
• Turn over and cook for about 3 minutes on the flesh side. To test the doneness of the duck breast, press it with your finger – it should be firm but still springy to the touch. If you have a meat thermometer, it should read 54˚C for rare, 61˚C for medium and 65˚C for medium/well done. The best cook for these pancakes is medium
• Allow the duck breast to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
• In the same pan with a bit of residual duck fat, fry the mushrooms until golden brown.
• Season with five-spice, salt and pepper.
• Assemble the pancakes:
• Serve pancakes family style with sliced duck, five-spice mushrooms, cucumber sticks, plum sauce, hoisin and fresh coriander.
• Musgrave Vanilla Brandy Plum Manhattan
• In a glass filled with ice combine the brandy, vermouth and bitters.
• Stir well (or shake in a cocktail shaker for a slightly dilute the drink).
• Strain over ice and garnish with fresh plum slices.

Notes

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