MANDARIN DUCK LIVER PARFAIT

• Place the shallots, garlic and thyme in a container with the Madeira, Ruby and White Port and the brandy. Set aside overnight (or up to 24 hours) to marinate.

• Heat the marinated mixture in a small saucepan stirring regularly to prevent any of the liquid sticking to the bottom and burning.
• When the liquid has reduced to approximately a tablespoon or so remove from the heat.
• Discard the bunch of thyme.
• Preheat the oven to 100C, fill a Bain-Marie with about 5cm of warm water and place in the oven. Get a large pan of water and place over the heat until it reaches 50C.
• Regulate the heat until it stabilizes at this temperature. Sprinkle the table salt over the chicken livers and then put them into a plastic freezer bag and tie in a firm knot. (Make sure all of the air is out of the bag before tying).
• Place the eggs and alcohol reduction in a second bag, remove the air and tie tightly again.
• Place the butter in a third bag, remove the air and also tie this bag very tightly. Place the three bags into the water bath for 20 minutes, keeping the temperature at 50C.
• Remove the bags from the water bath, cut them open and place the contents of all three bags in a food processor. Blitz them on full power until a fine purée. Pass the mixture through chinois or a fine sieve to remove any stray pieces and sinews.
• Pour the parfait mixture into a terrine dish or a non-stick loaf tin. Tap gently to settle out any bubbles and then cover with silver foil. Gently carry this to the oven and the waiting water bath. Cook gently in the oven until the internal temperature of the parfait reaches 64C (approximately 1 -1/4 hours at 100C). Remove the cooked parfait from the oven and then allow it to cool. Allow to firm up for 24 hours in a fridge.

• Using a spoon, scoop out the paté and use it to fill the half dome moulds. Level off the tops of the moulds with a spatula to make them as smooth as possible. Don’t forget that the 2 halves need to stick together perfectly so take care in levelling them.
• Place a piece of plastic wrap gently over the surface of the parfaits and place in the freezer to solidify into shape until completely frozen.

• Remove the silicone moulds from the freezer and carefully unmould the parfait halves.
• Gently heat the flat surface of one parfait half with a blowtorch to slightly melt the frozen paté and press the 2 halves gently together.
• Cover the ball with cling film and twist together tightly to seal. Place back in the freezer to set the halves into a ball shape. Place a small bamboo skewer into the parfaits at this stage to aid with the “dipping” later.

• Remove the silicone moulds from the freezer and carefully unmould the parfait halves.
• Gently heat the flat surface of one parfait half with a blowtorch to slightly melt the frozen paté and press the 2 halves gently together.
• Cover the ball with cling film and twist together tightly to seal. Place back in the freezer to set the halves into a ball shape. Place a small bamboo skewer into the parfaits at this stage to aid with the “dipping” later.

• If you can’t find ready-made mandarin purée, make you own.
• Take 5 fresh mandarins and very gently simmer them for 2 hours in a pan of water. Drain off the water and blitz the mandarins with a stick blender. Pass the purée through a fine sieve. Weigh out the 500g needed for the recipe.
• Add the gelatin to a jug of water and allow it to soften for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile add the glucose to the hot mandarin purée and stirr it together.
• After 5 minutes drain the gelatin and add it to the hot purée and stir to dissolve. Add the mandarin oil and paprika extract. Store the jelly in the fridge until the parfaits are ready to dip.
• The dipping stage - Gently warm the mandarin jelly in a small saucepan until it melts back to a liquid. Allow the jelly to cool to room temperature (28C). Remove the cling film from the frozen parfait ball. Holding the bamboo skewer, carefully dip the whole parfait ball into the Mandarin jelly. Allow the excess to drip off and place the skewer into a piece of polystyrene to allow the jelly to set. This will take literally 30 seconds because of the frozen parfait.

When dipping the balls in jelly keep in mind the consistency that would work the best. In the original recipe the balls were dipped in jelly twice more. Once would have been enough. So proceed with this in mind.

• Place the balls back into the fridge preferably in a lidded container and allow them to slowly defrost for at least 6 hours or overnight.

• Once the mandarin parfaits are defrosted, remove from the fridge.
• Place your thumb on the top and gently press down on the jelly to create a flattened indent. This creates the realistic mandarin shape and stops them looking too rounded.
• To finish, use bay leaves, fresh from the tree. Little cloves could also be used to create a realistic finish.

These would be fantastic served up as a starter on Christmas day. Try and get the correct sized moulds if you can as the ones used in the original recipe were a little too big for a starter portion.

• Place flour in a bowl; make a well in the middle. Add the sugar and the yeast, pour on 1 tablespoon of milk. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead for about 10 minutes. Proof for 2 hours.
• Shape and put into moulds. Proof until volume is doubled.
• Brush with egg wash and bake at 180C until golden.