Christmas Calendar 2017 - Seared duck breast with persimmon fruit

During my latest course at Denman College with focus on Christmas Afternoons Teas we were making sandwiches with various fillings. One of these fillings were Seared Duck breast with plums on white bread. This gave me the inspiration to serve these duck breasts as a main course for a Sunday dinner for my mother. I could not locate plums, so instead of I used persimmon and as the "bulk vegetable" potatoes.

Seared duck breat with persimmon fruit: - 2 servings

• 2 duck breasts
• 30 ml soy sauce
• 100 ml port wine
• 1 shallot, thinly - sliced
• 15 g fresh ginger - finely minced
• 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 persimmon - cut into medium pieces
• salt and pepper
• 15 g butter
• potatoes - to be served boiled

1. Add the soy sauce, port wine, shallot, ginger and ground cumin into a small bowl.
2. Trim the duck breasts for excess skin and fat along the edges. Cut the surface of the skin making diagonal cuts just through the skin.
3. Place the duck breasts skin side up in the marinade. Marinade the duck breast for 60 minutes turning them once or twice during the process.
4. Season the persimmon with salt and pepper.
5. Place the duck breasts on a cold frying pan on medium heat with the skin surface down to the pan.
6. Let the duck breasts cook in the melting fat from the breasts. It is important, that the surface does not burn (when reduce the heat of the frying pan). Cook the duck, until the skin skin side is dark and crispy, approx 12 minutes. Turn the duck around and let is flesh side cook another 5 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, heat the butter the in small cooking pot, add the persimmon fruit pieces, when the butter is fizzing. Stir them occasionally for around 5 minutes.
8. Pour the marinade from the duck breasts on top of the persimmon, and let the marinade reduce until half. 
9. Continue to heat the persimmon until, it is tender.
10. Serve the duck breast with persimmon fruit and boiled potatoes.