Roast fillet of duck with a little pie of braised duck legs and port sauce with cherries

METHOD

1. Pre-heat the oven to 225°C.
2. Remove legs from the ducks, poach in 500ml of stock until tender, 30 minutes or more. Remove breasts, season all over and put in a baking tin. Set aside.
3. Roll the puff pastry 3mm thick. Line the bases and sides of the tart tins. Cut rings of pastry for the lids and place on a baking tray. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
4. Remove the meat from the duck legs and dice finely. Dice the duck livers and mix well, add the cream, parsley, salt and pepper. Fill the tartlet moulds with the mix, brush the edges of the pastry with the egg wash and stick on the lids. Brush with egg wash and refrigerate the pies.
5. In a saucepan, reduce 400ml of red wine by half, add the Port, flambé while boiling. Turn the heat down to a simmer and poach the cherries for 2–3 minutes maximum. Drain the cherries out with a slotted spoon and put aside to cool. Add 2 tablespoons of stock from the poaching liquid for the legs. Reduce, taste and season. Keep warm.
6. Roast the duck breasts for 15–20 minutes, remove from oven, turn breasts downwards, cover with foil and rest for 10–15 minutes (this ensures they are uniformly pink).
7. Turn the oven down to 210°C. Cook the pies for 15 minutes or until they puff up and are golden. Meanwhile, heat the sauce, add the cherry liqueur and cherries. Do not boil.
8. To serve: slice the duck fillets from the breastbone, slice them across and arrange on warm plates – cover with the sauce and the cherries, and sit a pie on each plate.