Olia Hercules’ Christmas Duck

If you’re looking for something a little different than the usual Turkey this Christmas, we may just have the recipe for you. Olia Hercules, professional chef, food writer and food stylist, has kindly provided us with an easy yet delicious Duck recipe complete with kraut and dried apricot stuffing. This exclusive recipe (you won’t find it in Olia’s latest book Summer Kitchens!) makes perfect use of our fresh Duck, plus pairs beautifully with both red and white wines. To make things as easy as possible, we’ve also suggested our favourite wine pairings that complement this succulent Duck.

Getting to Know Olia

You may know professional chef, food writer and food stylist Olia Hercules from her frequent visits to BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, or perhaps from her recent appearance on Sunday Brunch. She has also written for Jamie Magazine, worked as a food stylist for various other publications as well as writing three of her own books. The first, named Mamushka, is a collection of Eastern European recipes reflecting Olia’s Ukrainian roots. Olia’s most recent publication explores this further – Summer Kitchens goes inside Ukraine’s hidden places of cooking and sanctuary hosting a wide variety of wonderfully unique recipes.

The Recipe

Olia’s delicious Duck is simply stuffed with savoy cabbage, kraut, chestnuts and dried apricots, roasted with potatoes and apples all in the same pan. The recipe is inspired by Olia’s Mother, who herself cooked a similar dish, plus a Lithuanian stuffed Goose recipe in super culinary writer Anya von Bremzen’s seminal book Please to the Table.

Bursting with flavour and very little effort required, this is an excellent Christmas dish – especially with the addition of your preferred spices. If you’re not a fan of meat, Olia recommends stuffing a pumpkin instead of Duck, using the same method only amending the time slightly. See the full recipe on our recipe hub, or to see more of the wonderful recipes Olia has to offer take a peek at her latest book Summer Kitchens.

Our Organic Ducks

The Ducks we sell at Eversfield Organic are provided by friend of the farm Ross in East Devon. The local farm ensures their Ducks have open fields to roam and forage for a completely organic and natural development. The slow-grown nature of the birds produces a plump, juicy Christmas centrepiece that is sure to impress. These succulent Ducks are best served with golden roast potatoes and full, fruity flavourings. Add a medium Duck, perfect for feeding families of 4-6, to your Christmas order now – you won’t regret it!

Fancy a Tipple?

The beauty of a well-cooked Duck is that it pairs effortlessly with both a rich, deep red or a light, refreshing white wine. At Eversfield Organic we are lucky enough to have our wonderful wine sommelier, Marie, working at our farm shop in Totnes. She has provided the best pick of the delightful wines we offer that are a fantastic pairing with a fresh, organic Duck.

• Walnut Block Nutcracker Pinot Noir – this popular choice directly from the wine region of Marlborough has been fermented with indigenous yeast and barrel aged for 11 months. The result is a fragrant wine with violet, cherry and juicy plum fruit extracts alongside spice and nutty oak flavourings. Deep, plush and sensuous with a well-balanced freshness.
• Macon-Villages Vielle Vignes Verpailles – for those with a taste for white, this superb wine is made from old vines in the Macon region in the South of Burgundy. The warmth here allows for riper, fruiter flavours withholding a sense of elegance and freshness. Aromas of pear, white flowers and exotic fruits are balanced by the gentle acidity and traces of minerality for a truly lively and seamless wine.
• Cuvee Secrete Chardonnay – another well balanced, light golden wine made with Chardonnay grapes. Opening with a palate of exotic fruits through a sweet, creamy vanilla finish and a freshness that extends throughout.
• Cuvee Secrete Merlot/Cabernet – This stunning red perfectly captures the sunshine of Southern-France with its juicy black fruit flavours and slight herby, spicy finishing. From the Paul Mas wine region in Languedoc, this bottle offers 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc in an appetising balance.