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Roast wild duck, blackberry sauce, celeriac puree

From Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets, http://www.raymondblanc.com/
Wild duck has got a fantastic gamey flavour, served medium rare you get the most out of this delicious meat. Over cook it and it will dry out very easily. You can make the puree and sauce a day in advance. Serves 2

2 wild ducks, prepped and ready for the oven
30ml Groundnut oil

For the celeriac puree
300g Celeriac, peeled and chopped 3cm pieces
600ml Milk, whole
3g Sea Salt
½ g Cayenne pepper
2ml Lemon juice
15ml Beurre noisette (optional, see below)
For the blackberry sauce
300g Duck bones, trimmings from the butcher, chopped 2cm
30ml Groundnut oil
120g (1 large) Shallot, banana, finely sliced
15g Butter, unsalted
100g Button mushrooms, sliced
150ml Red Wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, reduced by half
500ml Brown Chicken stock or water if you don’t have any
25ml Whipping cream
2g Sea salt
1g Black pepper, finely ground
To finish
1g Juniper Berries, crushed
60ml Blackberry puree, fresh
10ml Balsamic vinegar
Garnish (optional)
Caramelised diced apple, Whole Blackberries
Celeriac crisps

Beurre Noisette
In a small saucepan, heat your unsalted butter and gently cook it until it starts to bubble and colour slightly. As the butter turns a nut brown colour remove from the heat and pour into a bowl to cool down.

Roasting the Ducks
1 Pre-heat your oven to 180C.
2 In a large frying pan on a medium heat, colour the ducks on their legs in the oil for 8 minutes each. Turn on to the breasts and colour for 2 minutes each until golden brown all over. Transfer to an oven tray and roast in the pre-heated oven for 12 minutes.
3 Remove from the oven and leave to rest upside down. This so the juices will collect around the breasts keeping them moist and basted in all the roasting juices.

For the celeriac puree
1 In a medium saucepan, bring the chopped celeriac and milk to the boil; simmer for 15-20 minutes until soft.
2 Strain and puree in a blender until smooth, using a little of the milk to help get the right consistency. Season with the salt, pepper, lemon juice and beurre noisette. Cover and leave to one side.

For the blackberry sauce
1 In a large frying pan on a medium heat, colour the chopped duck bones in the oil for 10 minutes. Do not over caramelise your bones as they will impart a bitter taste to your sauce. Add the sliced shallots and mushrooms and continue until golden brown. Strain off the oil and place in a medium sized casserole along with all the other ingredients.
2 Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Finish the sauce with the Juniper berries, blackberry puree and vinegar. Taste, correct the seasoning and thicken with a little diluted arrowroot if needed.

SERVING Carve your duck onto a large oval plate, serve the celeriac puree in a small pot on the side and spoon the sauce over the ducks. Garnish with your choice of fresh blackberries, caramelised apples and celeriac crisps.

VARIATIONS:
This will be just as nice with a farmed duck except the cooking times will vary. Wild Ducks are a lot smaller than the farmed breeds.
Sit the duck on some roasted chopped chicken wings before you cook it in the oven and make a simple roasting pan jus by simply de-glazing with water.