Recipe Categories
Poultry 
Duck

Lynn's Breasts With Sweet Potato Mash

For the duck:
1 duck breast
2 ounces honey

For the sweet potato mash:
1 sweet potato, boiled
2 ounces butter
2 tablespoons cream
salt and freshly ground pepper

For the shallot and red wine sauce:
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 Romano chilli, diced finely
1 ounce butter
2 tablespoons red wine
4 ounces beef stock

For decoration:
2 asparagus spears, trimmed and blanched
6 baby carrots, trimmed and blanched

Cook the sweet potato in salted boiling water. Drain. Meanwhile, pan fry the duck in a hot ovenproof frying pan. Place the honey in the bottom of the pan and the duck skin side down. Fry the duck for 6 minutes on each side before placing in a hot oven. Roast the duck in the oven for 5 minutes. While the duck is in the oven, make the shallot and red wine sauce. In a small pan saute the shallot and garlic in the butter for 2 minutes. Add the red pepper. Add the red wine and stock and cover. Bring to the boil, then simmer. Mash the sweet potato, adding the butter and cream for flavor. When the duck is ready, place the breast on a bed of mashed sweet potato. Decorate with blanched asparagus spears and baby carrots. Top with the shallot and red wine sauce. If you have time, leave the duck to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
One of the earliest lessons I learned as a child was that if you looked away from something, it might not be there when you looked back.

- John Edgar Wideman