Did you get food envy when watching MKR’s Tommy and Rachel serve up their crispy duck leg with blackberry & port jus and potato gratin?

Don’t worry you too can feel like you’re at the My Kitchen Rules 2023 table… since the first episode recipe has just been revealed!

TIP: Use a mandolin to slice the potatoes for a thin, consistent result.

Make sure to choose potatoes that are long and thin so that when sliced vertically, the slices will fit easily into the muffin pan.

Ingredients

4 duck legs

1 tbs finely chopped thyme

Micro herbs, to garnish

POTATO GRATIN

125ml thickened cream

25g butter

3 garlic cloves

1 tbs crushed lemon thyme leaves

3 medium sebago potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced

4 tbs grated tasty cheese

4 tbs grated parmesan

BRAISED CABBAGE

2 tsp olive oil

2 shallots, thinly sliced

1 tbs butter

1 garlic clove, crushed

¼ red cabbage, thinly sliced

2 tbs red wine vinegar

75g blackberries, chopped

CAULIFLOWER PUREE

½ cauliflower, cut into small florets

500ml thickened cream

2 tsp butter

BLACKBERRY & PORT JUS

2 tsp olive oil

2 shallots, sliced

1 garlic clove, sliced

75g blackberries

250ml chicken stock

250ml port

2 tbs butter

Method

Preheat oven to 170C.

Pat duck skin dry of any moisture and rub all over with salt, pepper, and chopped thyme. Place in a roasting dish.

Roast for about 1 ½ hours or until meat is tender and skin is crisp, basting with the rendered fat every 20 minutes for the last hour.

Meanwhile, to prepare potato gratin, lightly grease four holes of a 1/3-cup (80ml) capacity silicone muffin/dessert pan.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add garlic and thyme and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in cream. Remove from heat and add potatoes, tossing to coat.

Arrange potato mixture in prepared pan holes (trimming slices to fit where necessary,) sprinkling a little tasty cheese between the layers. Cover the pan with foil.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with parmesan and bake for a further 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, to braise cabbage, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook shallots for about 5 minutes or until translucent. Stir in butter and garlic. Stir in cabbage.

Cook, covered, stirring often, for about 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cook, covered, for about 5 minutes or until soft. Season.

10.

To make cauliflower puree, place cauliflower and cream in a small saucepan over medium heat.

11.

Cook, covered, stirring often, for about 15 minutes or until cauliflower is soft.

12.

Strain and set cream aside. Return cauliflower to the same saucepan with butter. Using a stick blender, blend the mixture, adding enough of the reserved cream to form a soft silky puree. Season. Pass through a fine sieve.

13.

To make the blackberry and port jus, heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook shallots for about 10 minutes or until translucent. Stir in garlic.

14.

Add blackberries and crush with a potato masher or fork. Add stock and port and bring to a boil.

15.

Reduce heat and simmer on lowest heat, until reduced to form a rich jus. Strain through a fine sieve, pushing down on solids. Discard solids. Season.

16.

Serve duck, potato gratin, and cauliflower puree with blackberry and port jus. Garnish with micro herbs. And dig in!

Emily Sturgess