A short while ago I was invited to test out a couple of Maille products and come up with an original recipe using at least one of them. I will admit to previously thinking that Maille was solely about mustard, which I don’t tend to use loads of in my recipes. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I could get both aged Balsamic vinegar (which I used to dip my Hazelnut Ficelles in) and most excitingly, Hazelnut Oil. I’ve heard about Hazelnut Oil for a while now but wanted the opportunity to explore new tastes. I wanted to get away from just trying it in Baking (if you are a Nutella fan, then try it!) and find a savoury dish.
There’s no denying that Hazelnut Oil is quite a sweet taste (and quite subtle so you won’t find it overwhelming) so a sweet flavoured meat was my first port of call. I love using oils in risottos as they stop the flavour becoming too samey – you never know which bite will be an ‘oil bite!’
| Serves | 2-3 |
| Prep time | 15 minutes |
| Cook time | 30 minutes |
| Total time | 45 minutes |
| Meal type | Lunch, Main Dish, Starter |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Gourmet, Serve Hot |
INGREDIENTS
- 2 Duck Breasts
- 1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil (or Duck fat if you want to use it up)
- 1 Small Onion (Finely chopped)
- 150g Risotto Rice (I usually use Arborio but used some French stuff we brought back from our holidays last time – equally nice as each other!)
- 700ml Vegetable Stock (You may need to top up with more water as you are cooking)
- 1 pinch Salt & Pepper
- 50g Hazelnuts (Chopped into small chunks)
- 1 tablespoon Hazelnut Oil
- Rocket to Garnish
DIRECTIONS
| 1. | |
| Heat the oven to 200C and cook the duck breasts on an oven tray for 10-12 minutes. I do not use the Skin – if you want to add the skin to the dish, seal in a frying pan before oven cooking. | |
| 2. | |
| Remove duck breasts from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Chop into bite sized pieces. | |
| 3. | |
| Heat the Vegetable Oil (or the oil left on the oven trays from cooking the duck) in a large saucepan. | |
| 4. | |
| Soften the onions on a low heat for 2 minutes until soft and transparent | |
| 5. | |
| Add the rice and stir into the oil & onions. Add 100ml of vegetable stock immediately to stop the rice from catching on the bottom of the pan. | |
| 6. | |
| Allow to cook on a low heat for 2 minutes and add another splash of vegetable stock when that has been absorbed. Keep doing this until all the stock has been absorbed. If the rice is not soft enough to eat, then add some water – I would not normally have to add more than 50ml. This may take up to 20 minutes depending on the risotto rice that you use. | |
| 7. | |
| Add the chopped hazelnuts and continue to cook for 2 minutes – they will go a little bit softer but will still have some crunchy texture | |
| 8. | |
| Add the chopped duck and stir through. Add Salt & Pepper to taste. | |
| 9. | |
| Dish out and drizzle the hazelnut oil on the top of each portion. I like to dot some extra around the edges of the risotto. | |
| 10. | |
| Serve with rocket (and a glass of something chilled!) | |
Wow this looks lovely. I am a huge fan of risotto but I have actually never had duck. I wouldn’t know where to start but I’d definitely order this in a restaurant
x x
Hiya, I find duck one of the easiest meats to cook – it tells you exactly what to do on the wrapper. Maybe not the healthiest meats but definitely one of the tastiest!
I would never have thought of putting duck in risotto. It looks gorgeous
Came to me in a moment of inspiration! Definitely a keeper x
Oh wow! This sounds incredible! I have a bit of an obsession with risotto anyway, but the addition of duck and hazelnuts that I also love makes this a must make dish for me. Pinning now!
#Recipeoftheweek
I LOVE risotto – will never forget my first time of making risotto and being amazed by how easy it was. All those horror stories of keeping it company for hours of preparation complete rubbish.
Love both duck and risotto, though it tends to be something I eat when out rather than brave myself, but may well give this a go. I haven’t heard about the merits of hazelnut oil, but like the idea of the variety it adds and am betting the sweetness goes well with the duck.#RecipeoftheWeek.
This looks like a lovely dish. I did fancy trying that oil, too, but was not sure what to use it for. Great idea! #RecipeoftheWeek #MailleFlavours
I love duck but haven’t had it with hazelnuts before, this is one to try, it looks delicious x #RecipeoftheWeek