Duck with wild mushrooms, pomme fondant, gratin dauphinois and madeira jus

Another dish showing the versatility of duck with fruity madeira sauce and potatoes 'two ways' which never fails to impress.

Serves 2

2 Duck breasts, preferably Gressingham
25g Dried mixed mushrooms or 50g Fresh ceps
150ml Madeira
300ml Chicken stock,plus 200ml for pomme fondant
50g Butter plus 100g butter for pomme fondant
4 Large potatoes (preferably Maris piper or good baking potato)
125ml Double cream
1 Clove garlic,chopped
Olive oil
Sprig of thyme

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.

2. Peel and slice the potato in half, using a vegetable peeler smooth round the edges of the potatoes to prevent them from burning during cooking, the potatoes should be an even,oval shape in order to cook evenly. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Heat 100g of butter and olive oil in an oven-proof frying pan (or in an oven-proof tray) and once foaming add in the potatoes and colour on each side, this should take around 2-3 minutes. Once coloured add in the 200ml of chicken stock and spring of thyme, the liquid should come halfway up the potatoes, cook in the oven for 25-30mins.

4. For the gratin,use 25g of butter to grease a souffle ramekin or line a chefs ring with cling film and foil (be very careful to seal it tight) slice the remaining potato's using a mandolin slicer and layer up the potatoes with a pinch of garlic and a pinch of salt on every layer of potatoes. Cover with the cream and place on a tray in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour. Test the potatoes are done by inserting a skewer into the centre of the gratin, if the skewer goes in without resistance then your gratin is cooked. Allow to set for 10 minutes.

5. For the jus, add the madeira and chicken stock into a saucepan and reduce on a rapid heat for 10-15 minutes until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, whisk in the remaining butter to finish the sauce.

6. For the mushrooms, leave to stand in boiling water for 30 minutes prior to use (if using dried) and heat the remaining butter in a pan until foaming, add the mushrooms, season and fry for 2-3 minutes.

7. For the duck, season both sides of the breast and lay skin-side down in a frying pan on a low heat to extract the fat, once the fat has rendered (around 3-4 minutes) turn the heat up and seal the flesh side for no more than 30 seconds, place the pan in the oven (or transfer to a heated oven-proof tray) with the duck skin-side down, roast for 8 minutes for rare meat and 18 minutes for medium-well done. Rest for 4 minutes for rare and 6 minutes for medium-well done.

8. To serve, slice the duck into thick slices, sit on a bed of mushrooms, release the gratin from the mould and place alongside the sliced duck, arrange the pomme fondant to the side of the duck and spoon over the jus. Serve and enjoy.