Bengali Blackened Duck Livers On A Trio Of Mushrooms Served With A Warmed Tomato Coulis And Madeira Sauce

Serves 4

Recipe by Hanroe Erasmus (African Pride Melrose Arch Hotel)

Trio of mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 150g King oyster mushrooms
• 150g Button mushrooms
• 150g Shimeji mushrooms
• 3 Tbs Salted butter
• Black pepper
• 3 Thyme sprigs
• Salt

Method: 

• Using a paring knife cut the Shimeji mushrooms off the base trying to leave the stems as long as possible.
• Clean all the mushrooms (Shimeji, King Oyster and Button) with a light brush.
• Slice the King Oyster and Button mushrooms lengthwise, approximately 3mm thick.
• Strip the leaves off the Thyme sprigs and divide into 3.
• In a pan melt the butter and fry the mushrooms individually starting with the King Oyster, Button and then the Shimeji mushrooms, adding a Tbs of butter, seasoning and 1 portion of the thyme leaves with every batch.

 

For the Madeira sauce:

Ingredients:

• 5 Duck livers
• 1 Large onion
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 5 Streaky bacon rashers
• 1 Thyme sprig
• Olive oil
• 1 cup Madeira wine
• 2 cups Chicken stock
• 2 tsp Salted butter

Method:

• Clean the duck livers by removing any sinew from the liver and then cut them in half.
• Finely chop the onion and garlic.
• Cut the bacon into small pieces.
• Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs.
• In a small pot heat the oil and add the bacon pieces to the pot.
• Once the bacon starts to crisp up add the chopped onion and cook the onions until glassy.
• Add the garlic and thyme and cook until the onion starts to caramelize.
• Add the duck livers to the pot and cook until the livers are firm.
• Deglaze the pot using the Madeira.
• Add the stock and reduce temperature to a simmer.
• Reduce the liquid by half, remove from the heat and liquidise.
• Strain the sauce to remove any sediment that might be in the sauce.
• Place the strained sauce back on the heat and reduce by half again or until you have a sauce with a syrup consistency.
• Stir the butter into the sauce and season with the salt. 

 

For the Tomato coulis:

Ingredients:

• 5 Italian tomatoes Salt
• 2 Tbs Extra virgin olive oil
• ½ Lemon (juice only)
• 1 tsp Paprika (optional)
• 1 Tbs Salted butter

Method: 

• Peel and de-seed the tomatoes so that you are only left with the flesh.
• In a blender add all the ingredients together and blend well until you are left with a smooth bright red coulis (If the coulis is not bright red add some paprika).
• In a small pan heat the coulis with the butter but be careful not to let it boil as it will separate.

 

For the Bengali spice:

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs Cumin seeds
• 1 Tbs Coriander seeds
• ½ Tbs Garlic salt
• 3 Tbs Paprika
• 1 Tbs Chilli flakes
• 1 Tbs Ground ginger

Method: 

• Dry fry the cumin and coriander seeds until the coriander start to “pop”
• Remove the spices from the heat and crush using a mortar and pestle.
• Mix all the ingredients together and set aside until needed

 

Bengali blackened duck livers:

Ingredients:

• 12 Duck livers
• Salt  and black pepper
• 1 Tbs Bengali spice
• 2 tsp Sunflower oil
• ½ Carrot

Method:

• Clean the duck livers by removing sinew from the liver, but keep the liver intact.
• Place the duck livers in a flat container and dust with the Bengali spice, salt and pepper, toss the livers to ensure an even distribution of the spices and let it stand for 30 minutes.
• In a pan heat the sunflower oil and place the duck livers in the hot oil, be careful not to burn as the duck livers will “pop”.
• Once the duck livers are caramalised place the pan in an oven at around 180⁰C for 5 minutes or until done (firm to the touch).
• Set the duck livers aside to rest.