I grew up on Sunday lunches of roast wild duck, but the catch always had to be shared with the family, and there never seemed to be enough to get your teeth into. Now, luxury is a whole bird between two, with parsley potatoes on the side, and sautéed wild mushrooms acting as a sauce. Oven-ready wild mallard is available (until Feb 1) from farmers’ markets and online from game specialists such as www.manorfarmgame.co.uk

Ingredients
Feeds 2. Takes 60 mins.


1 wild duck, eg, mallard, weighing 500g
2 stalks rosemary or thyme
1tsp butter for duck
3 slices prosciutto or bacon

FOR THE POTATOES

400g interesting potatoes, eg, ratte
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2tbsp roughly chopped parsley
Sea salt and pepper

FOR THE WILD MUSHROOMS

300g wild mushrooms (eg, ceps, girolles)
100g fresh shiitake mushrooms
1tbsp butter
1tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
100ml white wine
1 garlic clove, crushed
1tbsp parsley, chopped
Sea salt and pepper
100ml chicken stock

Heat the oven to 220C/Gas mark 7. Wipe the bird dry, and season well inside and out. Tuck the herbs into the cavity. Spread butter over the breasts, and then cover the breasts with prosciutto, tucking it in the sides.

Place in a roasting tray and add a splash of hot water. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove and rest for ten minutes.

In the meantime, cook the potatoes in simmering salted water for 20 minutes or until tender.

Wipe the mushrooms dry, and slice finely. Heat one teaspoon each of butter and oil in a frying pan, and cook the onion gently until translucent. Add the white wine and allow to bubble and reduce until almost all gone. Add the mushrooms and cook for five minutes until they start to soften. Add the garlic, parsley, salt, pepper and chicken stock, and bring to the boil, then simmer, stirring occasionally, for ten minutes until the mushrooms are tender.

To serve, drain the potatoes then return them to the pan with olive oil, butter, garlic, parsley, sea salt and pepper, and toss until well coated.

To serve the duck, use poultry shears to cut the bird in half lengthwise and serve half the bird to each person. Or cut off each leg where it joins the body, cut the breast and wing away from the ribcage, and serve as two pieces per person, with the potatoes and the mushrooms.

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