food

Sex and The City — Human Sushi Platter and Manhattan Duck

This time, we're making recipes that give a nod to one of Laura's favorite films, 2008's Sex and The City. Loom forward to a posh, alcohol-soaked duck recipe and a sushi spread displayed on a human platter.

food

Sex and The City — Human Sushi Platter and Manhattan Duck

This time, we're making recipes that give a nod to one of Laura's favorite films, 2008's Sex and The City. Loom forward to a posh, alcohol-soaked duck recipe and a sushi spread displayed on a human platter.

Supplies

  • Bourbon whisky (100 milliliters)
  • Cherry brandy (50 milliliters)
  • 1 tablespoon of angostura bitters
  • Handful of muscavado sugar (50g)
  • A few sprigs of rosemary
  • A few sprigs of thyme
  • 2 duck breasts
  • Large maris piper potatoes (800g)
  • Whole milk (150 milliliters)
  • Unsalted butter (150g)
  • 2 endives
  • 3 tablespoons of caster sugar
  • A glug of vermouth
  • A handful of kirsch soaked cherries

Steps

  1. Add the bourbon, kirsch, bitters, sugar, rosemary and thyme into a large bowl for the marinade.
  2. Submerge the duck breasts in the marinade and leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight).
  3. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  4. Scatter the potatoes with plenty of salt and bake for 1 1/4 hours.
  5. Melt the butter in the milk and keep warm.
  6. Use a clean tea towel to peel the hot baked potatoes.
  7. Mash the potato middles using a potato ricer (or a masher) and season well.
  8. Stir the milk and butter into the potatoes a little at a time, incorporating well and keep the mash warm.
  9. Remove the duck breasts from the marinade. Dry them well.
  10. Season the duck and place skin side down in a dry pan.
  11. Cook the breasts over a medium heat, discarding any fat every so often.
  12. Remove the ducks from the heat when the skin is deep golden brown and crispy (about 10 minutes).
  13. Turn the duck breasts over and put the pan in the oven for 10 minutes.
  14. Halve the endives then remove the cores and the outermost leaves.
  15. Sprinkle the endives with 1 tablespoon of caster sugar and place in a hot dry pan.
  16. Caramelise well, then pour in the marinade, vermouth and chuck in the cherries.
  17. Cover the endive and cook for 5 minutes, until tender. Remove the endive, turn the heat up and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of caster sugar.
  18. Bubble the remaining marinade until it becomes a sticky sauce.
  19. Serve the duck with a good helping of mash, a half of endive and a generous drizzle of sauce.

Supplies

  • Sushi rice (250g)
  • Water (275 milliliters)
  • Rice vinegar (60 milliliters)
  • Caster sugar (30g)
  • 1 pork fillet
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon of wasabi paste
  • 3 nori sheets
  • A small handful of toasted sesame seeds
  • A small handful of pickled ginger
  • 6 king prawns, cooked
  • 1 rump steak, seared
  • Soy sauce, for dipping

Steps

  1. Wash the rice in water until the water becomes almost clear.
  2. Drain the rice and add to a saucepan with the 275 milliliters of water.
  3. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat, cover the saucepan and simmer for 20 minutes before removing from the heat.
  4. Heat another small saucepan and add the vinegar, sugar and half a teaspoon of salt.
  5. Dissolve the sugar then pour it over the cooked rice, transfer to a tray and spread out to cool and dry slightly.
  6. Preheat an oven to 200°C.
  7. Season the pork well with salt and pepper and heat oil in a pan.
  8. Add the pork and brown the fillet all over then stick it in the oven for 10 minutes, until the pork is just cooked through.
  9. Remove the pork from the oven and let it rest, saving the juices.
  10. Slice the avocado, cucumber and pork fillet into long strips, about 0.5 x 0.5 centimeters.
  11. Mix half of the mayonnaise with the wasabi and the other half with the pork juices.
  12. Cover your sushi mat with a sheet of clingfilm.
  13. Cut the nori sheets in half to get two rectangles.
  14. Spread one nori rectangle with a layer of compact sushi rice, leaving a lip of nori along the long side of the sheets. Repeat with the second sheet, without pushing the rice right to edge without leaving the lip.
  15. Scatter some toasted sesame seeds over the rectangle without the lip and flip the sheet over so that the rice is on the bottom.
  16. Lay the cucumber and pickled ginger along one long side of the nori sheet, end to end. Arrange the pork fillet along side the vegetables.
  17. Use the mat to roll up the nori around the filling, ensuring that the mat is not folded into the rice.
  18. Compress the roll with the mat.
  19. Remove the roll from the mat and refrigerate for 20 minutes before slicing into 8 bite-sized pieces.
  20. Grab the remaining rectangle of rice and nori and place onto the sushi mat, nori side down.
  21. Lay the avocado along the middle of the rice end to end.
  22. Snap the prawns in half and arrange in lines either side of the avocado.
  23. Use the mat to roll up the nori around the filling, ensuring that the mat is not folded into the rice.
  24. Compress the roll with the mat, then leave to rest in the fridge before slicing.
  25. Use wet hands to shape a small blob of rice.
  26. Repeat until you have 8 rectangles of about 2 centimeters x 3 centimeters.
  27. Slice the beef into thin strips and drape over the rice.
  28. Serve the sushi with a soy sauce dip.