Ingredients

duck breasts

to taste

salt and freshly ground pepper

Tomato Confit

2 tablespoons

olive oil

garlic cloves freshly and finely chopped

2cm piece

fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped

500g

ripe red tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and roughly chopped

good pinch

salt

1/2 teaspoon

ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon

kalonji seeds (also known as nigella)

½ tablespoon

orange flower water

1 1/2 tablespoons

honey

A recipe to try out when tomatoes are ripe and plentiful, this sweet-savoury tomato jam is intense and unusual. The kalonji seeds add texture and a mild aromatic nutty flavour. Although the jam is usually served as part of a collection of starters, it goes just as well with the meatiness of duck. The tomato confit can be made several days in advance. Serve it at room temperature or warmed through.

Recipe from Sophie Grigson. Serves 2.

Method

First make the confit. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based saucepan and fry the garlic and ginger gently for a minute or so. Add the tomatoes, salt, cinnamon and kalonji seeds and cook over a low heat, stirring frequently, until the juices have almost all evaporated; this will take around 40 minutes.
Now stir in the orange flower water and honey and cook for another 10 minutes or so, until the mixture is so thick that you can mound it up in a heap. Scoop out into a dish and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas mark 7. Prick the skin of the duck breasts all over with the tines of a fork. Heat a heavy-based ovenproof frying pan over a high heat. If it isn’t non-stick, rub the surface with a little oil. Lay the duck breasts skin-side down in the pan and cook until golden brown underneath. Turn the duck over, quickly and carefully pour off excess fat, then put the pan in the oven. Cook for 7 minutes
Take the duck breasts out of the pan, and leave to rest for 4–5 minutes in a warm place. Slice thinly and arrange on plates, on a bed of steamed green beans or spinach if you like. Spoon on some of the tomato jam and serve immediately.