Duck breast with summer berries, celeriac and basil

This dish is great as an entree to really 'wow' your guests.

Duck and dehydrated kale

150 g	Kale leaves
3 drops	Tamari soy sauce
4 medium	Duck breasts (Main)

Basil oil and celeriac puree

100 g	Basil leaves (Main)
100 ml	Grapeseed oil
500 g	Celeriac, peeled and diced into even cubes (Main)
250 ml	Milk
50 ml	Cream

Red wine syrup and berries

300 ml	Red wine
1 quill	Cinnamon
2	Star anise
3 Tbsp	Brown sugar
1	Orange, rind peeled
1 punnet	Strawberries (Main)
1 punnet	Raspberries (Main)
150 g	Cherries, halved, stones removed
1 sachet	Freeze-dried raspberries

Directions

1. First dehydrate kale. Preheat oven to 80C. Remove the stalks of the kale and mix with soy sauce. Spread in a single layer over a flat tray lined with baking paper and dehydrate for about an hour or until crisp.
2. Trim duck of any excess fat and sinew and score the skin. Season skin with salt. Cook in a water bath at 60C for 33 minutes or in a cast iron pan, skin side down, on a medium heat until all the fat has been rendered. Once the skin is very crisp, flip the duck and rest in a warm place in the pan for about 10 minutes and then on a wire rack for another 20 minutes. Ideally, the duck should be cooked just a few minutes before you want to serve.
3. To make the basil oil, blanch basil leaves in boiling water for about 30 seconds. Refresh in ice water. Once the basil is cold, wrap the leaves in a tea towel and squeeze to remove all excess moisture. Chop the basil roughly and blend with the oil until completely amalgamated. Pass the basil oil through a Chux or muslin cloth. Discard solids. Set oil aside.
4. To make puree, combine celeriac, milk and cream in a stainless steel saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the celeriac is cooked. Remove celeriac and transfer to a blender. Blend to a fine puree, slowly adding as much of the milk and cream to achieve the right consistency. Season to taste. Set aside.
5. Meanwhile make the red wine syrup. Combine cinnamon, star anise, brown sugar and orange rind in a saucepan and reduce to a syrup. This will take about 20-25 minutes on a medium heat. Remove quill, star anise and rind.
6. Slice the strawberries, remove the green tip from the raspberries and reserve in a bowl with the cherries.
7. When ready to serve, crisp the duck in a preheated oven at 250C, skin side down, for about 3-4 minutes. The duck should have a slightly firm touch.
8. Spoon the warm celeriac puree around the plate, slice each duck breast into a few slices and season. Arrange the duck close to the puree.
9. Toss the berries and cherries with the basil oil and place around the duck, followed by the kale and a little red wine syrup. Crush a few of the freeze dried raspberries on each plate and serve.