Serves: 4
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour

Planning ahead

The sauce can be made 24 hours in advance; the chestnuts can be cooked 6 hours in advance and reheated.

Ingredients for the plum sauce

300ml red wine, Cabernet Sauvignon
½ stick of cinnamon
1 slice of orange
1 bay leaf
75g Agen prunes (*1), stone removed
2 tsp brown demerara sugar
120ml brown chicken stock
15g duck foie gras, raw (optional)
3 pinches sea salt
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients for the braised chestnuts, apple and celery:

30g butter, unsalted
200g chestnuts (*2), peeled
1 stick celery, chopped, 1cm thick
½ Braeburn apple, skin on, core removed, cut into large pieces approx 2cm
200ml water or light chicken stock
4 pinches caster sugar
3 pinches sea salt
1 pinch white pepper, freshly ground
1 squeeze lemon juice

For the duck

4 (220g each) duck breasts, (free range/organic) on the bone, skin scored
4 pinches sea salt
1 pinch black pepper, freshly ground

For the roast butternut squash

500g butternut squash, peeled, cut across into 4 x 1½ cm slices
1 tbsp groundnut oil (or other non scented oil)
20g butter, unsalted
4 pinches sea salt
1 pinch black pepper, freshly ground

Cooking the sauce

Boil the red wine, cinnamon stick, orange slice and bay leaf together to reduce the wine by half to 150ml

Add the prunes to the hot red wine reduction and marinate for 2 hours.

Remove the cinnamon, orange slice & bay leaf from the marinade. In a medium pan soften the demerara sugar on the stove, add the reduced red wine, marinated prunes, and chicken stock and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat and blend for one minute in a blender.

Add the raw foie gras to the blender and continue to blend for 30 seconds. Season with the sea salt and black pepper. Taste and correct the seasoning, if necessary.

Cooking the chestnuts, apple and celery

In a small saucepan on medium heat, sweat the celery, apple and chestnuts in the butter for four minutes.

Pour in the water; bring to the boil and season with the salt, pepper, sugar and lemon juice. Cover with a lid and cook on a low heat (bubble just breaking the surface) for 20 minutes until soft and melting.

Seasoning the duck breasts and rendering the fat

Season the duck breasts with the salt and pepper. On a medium heat in a large frying pan (28cm Ø) place the duck breasts skin side down. Colour the skin, for 10 minutes, pouring off the excess fat every 2 minutes until the skin is golden brown in colour and crispy. Turn the duck onto its flesh side and sear for 1 minute to lock the juices inside the breasts during cooking. Return the duck breasts to their skin sides and place in the hot oven for 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 4 minutes.

Cooking the butternut squash

While the skin of the duck is rendering, on a medium heat, in a large frying pan (28cm Ø) roast the butternut squash slices in the groundnut oil and butter. Season with the salt and pepper and colour them for 8 minutes on each side, transfer the pan to the oven to finish the cooking for 4 minutes.

Serving

On hot plates, place a slice of butternut squash in the centre of the plate. Position the duck breast on top and scatter the chestnuts, apple and celery around the outside. Spoon the hot sauce generously around the plate. Serve to your guests.

Chef's notes (*)

*1 Try and use the best quality Agen prunes, they have a rich and intense flavour.

*2 Fresh chestnuts are the best, however, peeling them at home is tricky and time consuming. You can now buy frozen shelled chestnuts in good supermarkets which offers a good alternative.

Times Recommends

• 21 top tips for Christmas
• Chocolate and chestnut souffle cake
• Rabbit and oysters — feasts of Christmas past