Served with Musgrave Vanilla Brandy Plum Manhattan

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

Pancakes:
🔹300g flour
🔹Pinch sea salt
🔹250ml 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
🔹2 tsp five-spice powder
🔹Pinch sea salt

Five-Spice Mushrooms:
🔸250g portabelllini mushrooms, sliced
🔸1 tsp five-spice powder
🔸Salt and pepper, to taste

To serve:
🔹1 cucumber, cut into matchsticks
🔹4 spring onions, julienned
🔹Fresh coriander
🔹Hoisin sauce

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.

For 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 little balls. Cover with plastic wrap.

🔹Working with two balls at a time- flatten them into little 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 little 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 little 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 little residual duck fat, fry the mushrooms until golden brown.
Season with five-spice, salt and pepper.

To 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

Makes 1 cocktail

Ingredients:

🔹50ml Musgrave Vanilla Brandy
🔹25ml sweet red vermouth
🔹2-3 dashes Angostura bitters
🔹2-3 slices fresh plum for garnish

Method:

🔸In a glass filled with ice combine the brandy, vermouth and bitters.
🔸Stir well (or shake in a cocktail shaker for a slightly weaker drink).
🔸Strain over ice and garnish with fresh plum slices.

Categories: Duck & Mushroom PancakesTags: Cape Town, Duck and Mushroom Pancakes, Food, Food and Wine, Mushrooms, Recipe