Honey and soy glazed duck breast with coriander and apricot couscous and caramelised beetroot

Ingredients

For the honey and soy duck breast
1 duck breast, skin scored
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp clear honey
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 star anise
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
For the coriander and apricot couscous
100g/3½oz couscous
300ml/½ pint hot vegetable stock
25g/1oz butter
85g/3oz dried apricots, chopped
¼ tsp ground turmeric
squeeze lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
For the caramelised beetroot
4 baby beetroots, raw, with leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
200ml/7fl oz hot vegetable oil, for deep frying
sea salt

Method

1. For the duck, season the skin of the scored duck breast with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2. Heat a frying pan until smoking hot, then add the duck breast skin-side down and fry until the skin is golden-brown and crisp. Turn over, add the honey, soy sauce, star anise and garlic and fry for a further 6-8 minutes, or until cooked through but still slightly pink in the middle. Remove from the heat, cover with foil and allow to rest for five minutes. Remove the foil and thinly slice the duck breast.
3. For the couscous, place the couscous into a bowl, and pour over enough hot vegetable stock to cover the couscous by 1cm/½in. Cover with cling film and leave for 4-5 minutes. Remove the cling film and fluff up the grains with a fork.
4. Heat the butter in a frying pan, add the apricots and stir for 1-2 minutes to warm through. Add the turmeric and lemon juice, stir and then add to the bowl of cooked couscous. Add the coriander and stir well.
5. For the caramelised beetroot, cut the leaves from the beetroot and set aside. Halve each beetroot and place in a pan of boiling water and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until just tender, and drain.
6. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the beetroot and sauté for a few minutes. Add the brown sugar and balsamic vinegar and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the sugar has melted and the beetroot is beginning to caramelise. Set aside and keep warm.
7. Heat the vegetable oil in a small saucepan until a small cube of bread dropped in turns golden-brown in 30 seconds. Add half the beetroot leaves and deep fry for 3-4 minutes, or until crisp. Carefully remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Toss with sea salt.
8. Drop the rest of the beetroot leaves into a pan of boiling water and blanch for three minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain.
9. To serve, place a chefs' ring into the middle of a serving plate, spoon the couscous into the chefs' ring and press down slightly. Remove the ring and then place the sliced duck on top of the couscous. Scatter the caramelised beetroot around the edge of the plate and top with the deep-fried beetroot leaves and the blanched beetroot leaves.