Duck Breast with Spiced Kanzi Apples & Red Cabbage
Inroduction
About this Recipe
By: Sheridan Rogers
Have you ever tasted a Kanzi apple? If not, I suggest you grab some in the next week or so as their season is short and you might miss out. Their season is NOW and once you’ve tasted one, I bet you drool and wonder if it’s just been picked fresh from the tree to you. Kanzis are the new kid on the block, a cross between a juicy Gala and a tangy Braeburn apple. Red and cream in colour, their juicy, crisp crunch is a winner, especially with kids – and also with astronauts (a hand selected shipment of Kanzi apples recently blasted into space on board an unmanned NASA rocket). Pack one in the school lunchbox and let your kids discover this “hidden treasure” (Kanzi means “hidden treasure” in Swahili). Kanzi apples were bred as a dessert variety, so they’re perfect for fresh eating. Eating them straight, in salads or cut up into fresh snacks showcases their juicy crunch. Kanzis are also good to cook with because they keep their shape and juiciness, as you’ll discover in this delicious recipe. You can also use them for delicate tarts or pies or baked apples. They also pair well with white, creamy cheeses and as well as strong cheeses like gorgonzola and other fruits such as figs. If you knew an apple was fresh from the tree and not kept for months in cold storage, you’d be salivating, wouldn’t you?
Ingredients
- red cabbage 1/2, finely shredded
- olive oil 1 tablespoon
- cinnamon stick 1
- brown sugar 1 tablespoon
- balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons
- Kanzi apples 2, peeled and chopped
- duck breasts 4
- five spice powder 1 1/4 teaspoons
- sugar 1 tablespoon
- Kanzi apple 1, finely diced
- red wine vinegar 1 tablespoon
For the cabbage, add the oil to a hot pan that has a lid. Add the cabbage and cook for five minutes before stirring in the sugar and vinegar. Add the cinnamon stick and apples, stir and cover and cook on a low heat until the cabbage is soft, stirring occasionally (a simmer pad is useful). Once cooked, season with pepper. Score the fat of the duck breasts – this will help render the fat when cooked, then dust the skin and flesh with half the 5 spice powder. Pre-heat the oven to 200oc. Place the breasts, skin side down in a cold frying pan then turn on the heat. Slowly cook the duck over medium heat, removing the excess fat in the pan as you go. Cook for 6-8 minutes until crispy then pop into the oven for six minutes. Remove from the oven then turn so the skin is facing upwards and allow to rest for five minutes. Whilst the duck is resting, dust the bottom of a small frying pan with the sugar. Allow to caramelize. Dust the diced apples in the remaining 5 spice powder then carefully add them, along with the vinegar to the pan. Stir to combine. Slice each duck breast into five slices, place on top of a bed of red cabbage and spoon round over the sweet and sour apples. Serve with warmed new potatoes.