ingredients
serves 4
250 g (9 oz) duck breast
4 sheets frozen puff pastry, about 65 g (1 1/2 oz) each
1 tsp oil
Pinch each salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 spring onions
250 g (9 oz) courgettes (zucchini)
3/4 cup (90 g) button mushrooms
1 cup (8 fl oz) 250 ml strong chicken stock
150 g (5 oz) mildly flavoured sausagemeat
Bunch chervil
4 tbsp single (light) cream
1 egg yolk
method
1. Thoroughly thaw puff pastry and set aside.
2. Wash and dry duck breast before browning the skin side in oil, then turning and completing the process in 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Trim and wash spring onions, then chop in rings.
4. Wash, dry and dice courgettes (zucchini) finely.
5. Clean and rinse mushrooms, then slice them.
6. Heat the chicken stock.
7. Put sausagemeat into a bowl, add the washed and finely chopped chervil, 2 tbsp cream and some pepper.
8. Mix well and then shape with teaspoons into little dumplings and simmer gently in the stock for 10 minutes.
9. Cut the duck into fine strips and divide it together with the finely chopped vegetables among four soup bowls.
10. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F) Gas Mark 7.
11. Roll pastry out to form circles 2 cm 3/4 in bigger than the diameter of the bowls.
12. Whisk egg yolk with remaining cream.
13. Fill bowls with hot soup and dumplings. Cover with a pastry lid and glaze with egg yolk.
14. Bake in centre of oven for about 10 minutes until pastry is well browned.
