Ingredients

• 1 duck breast
• excess fat trimmed and skin scored
• 150g/5oz puff pastry
• rolled out on a floured surface to the thickness of a pound coin
• 1 free-range egg
• beaten
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 25g/1oz wild mushrooms
• such as chanterelles
• carefully cleaned
• 1 shallot
• finely sliced
• 50ml/2fl oz red wine
• ½ beef stock cube
• knob of butter
• 2 handfuls spinach
• wilted in a frying pan

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
• Place a frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot
• place the duck breast skin-side down into the pan. Cook for five minutes
• until the skin is browned and crisp.
• Drain some of the fat released from the duck and then turn the breast over and cook for a further three minutes
• until the flesh has browned and then transfer into the oven to roast for ten minutes
• or until cooked through.
• Using a 10cm/4in pastry cutter
• cut out a pastry round. Brush the pastry round with the beaten egg and place onto a baking sheet. Place into the oven and bake for ten minutes
• or until risen and golden.
• For the sauce
• place the oil into a pan over a medium to high heat. Add the mushrooms and shallots and sauté for three minutes.
• Add the red wine
• stock cube and butter and simmer until the sauce has thickened.
• To serve
• place the duck on a bed of wilted spinach
• drizzle over the sauce and top with the puff pastry round.