Duck liver parfait with port, cherry and currant chutney and coffee nougatine recipe

Phil Howard at Nespresso boutique

Ingredients:

For the parfait:

400g duck livers, at room temperature
5 eggs, at room temperature
400g butter, melted and warm
2 shallots
1 sprig thyme
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 bay leaf
100ml Port
100ml Madeira wine
50ml Cognac
1 tsp. salt

For the chutney:

350ml red wine vinegar
350g demerara sugar
300g finely chopped white onions
100g currants
3 strips orange zest
600g pitted, halved cherries
2 apples, peeled and finely chopped
150g rhubarb – sliced into 1/3 cm slices
2 star anise
2 cloves

Method:

To make the parfait

1. Sweat the shallots until completely soft with the salt in 1 tsp of the butter.
2. Add the Port, Madeira, Cognac, bay leaf, garlic and thyme, and cook until the liquid has all but completely evaporated.
3. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender, removing the herbs as you do so.
4. Add the duck livers and blend at full speed until completely smooth. Add the butter in a slow and steady stream until it is all incorporated into the livers mix. Add the eggs, briefly re-blend to combine and season with 20 turns of a pepper mill.
5. Pass this mixture through a fine sieve and in turn pour the mix into a terrine mould and cover with a lid or sheet of parchment paper. Place the terrine in a tray filled with boiling water and carefully transfer to an oven set to 120ºC.
6. Cook for 50 minutes or until the mixture has just set – move the terrine to and fro to check from time to time. Remove from the oven, set aside to cool and transfer to the fridge.

To make the chutney

1. Wrap the star anise and cloves in a small cloth or piece of muslin and place it in a medium sized pan.
2. Add the vinegar, sugar, onions, currants and orange zest, and place the pan over a high heat.
3. Once boiling, add the apples and cook for 10 minutes. Add the cherries, return to the boil and cook, stirring frequently until the mix begins to look glossy and rich. Add the rhubarb and cook until its moisture has been released and the whole mix has reduced to a glossy chutney.
4. Tip into a bowl, cover with cling film and set aside to cool.

To make the nougatine

1. Place the sugar into a heavy-based pan and set over a medium heat. Leave the sugar to turn to a golden caramel. Add the peanuts, stir quickly and remove from the heat.
2. Add the Nespresso Rosabaya de Colombia grounds and turn the mix onto a sheet of greaseproof paper. Leave to cool completely, transfer to a bowl and crush with a rolling pin.
3. Set aside in an airtight container.

To serve:

Toast the sourdough bread. Use a hot spoon (dipped in boiling water) to scoop out 10 generous spoonfuls of parfait and lay one onto each of the 10 plates. Add a small quantity of chutney to each plate and sprinkle some of the nougatine over the parfait. Serve with a small amount of green salad and a piece of sourdough toast.

Find more recipes from Phil Howard in The Square: Savoury: 1 and The Square: Sweet: 2.