Ballotine of Duck

Name: Ballotine of Duck
Yield: Serves 10 As a First Course
Ingredients: 50 g/2 oz dried apricots; 50 ml/2 fl oz brandy; 1 bunch of parsley, chopped; 1 onion, quartered; 50 ml/2 fl oz port; 1 carrot, quartered; extra duck fat or butter; 1 teaspoon green peppercorns; 450 g/1 lb pickled belly of pork, see The Brine Tub; 100 ml/4 fl oz dry white wine; freshly ground black pepper; 1 clove of garlic; 225 g/8 oz chicken livers, trimmed and quartered; 1 large duck, with giblets; 1 pinch of chopped thyme; 1 bouquet garni; salt; 1 stick of celery, sliced; 1 egg white; 50 g/2 oz pistachio nuts, shelled

Preparation info

Serves
10
As a First Course

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Carved Angel Cookery Book

By Joyce Molyneux

Published 1990

About

At first glance this seems a frighteningly complicated dish to tackle. Don’t be put off. It is great fun to make. As you cut the first slices and see the elegant mosaic formed by the strips of meats, green pistachios, orange apricot, and farce studded with peppercorns, the sense of achievement is tremendous. The first mouthful will immediately confirm that this was time well spent.