Tempura duck livers
Duck livers fried in a light, crispy batter and served on a bed of puy lentils make a rich but tasty appetiser. Serves four.
Tempura duck livers on dish
Think duck liver and you’ll probably think of foie gras, but there’s so much more you can create out of this humble, yet indulgent, cut of offal. Dipped in a light but crunchy tempura batter, the liver becomes a delightful mouthful, perfect for impressing dinner guests. These are paired with an acidic sauce, made using lemon juice and rapeseed oil. Served on a bed of puy lentils and finely sliced purple carrots, they are transformed into a delicious morsel at little cost.
Ingredients
• 200g puy lentils
• 2L veal or chicken stock
• 2 purple carrots
• 16 duck livers
• vegetable oil for deep frying
For the sauce
• 2 egg yolks
• small handful of lovage
• juice of a lemon
• 400ml rapeseed oil
• seasoning
For the batter
• 75g rice flour
• pinch of salt
• pinch ground coriander
• sparkling water (see method)
Method
■ Put the lentils in a pan with the veal stock, and simmer until tender — around half an hour.
■ Slice the purple carrots very finely and set to one side.
■ Trim the duck livers.
■ To make the batter, put the rice flour, salt and coriander in a bowl and whisk in the sparkling water add enough so that it is the consistency of double cream.
■ Heat the vegetable oil for deep frying to 170°C.
■ Dip the duck livers into the batter and fry until lightly coloured — the batter shouldn’t be too dark.
■ To make the sauce, put the egg yolk, finely chopped lovage and half the lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk and slowly add the rapeseed oil, as you would for making mayonnaise. Once all the oil has been added, adjust the seasoning.
■ Assemble the plates — put a few spoonfuls of lentils on each plate, with a few slices of carrot. Place the tempura duck livers on top of the lentils, and drizzle sauce on each plate.
The Gladwin brothers – chef Oliver (left), restaurant manager Richard (right) and farmer Gregory – own two game restaurants in London.
