quick and easy red wine sauce
roasted a duck for dinner yesterday, served with roast potatoes and stir fried spring greens. I didn't think a traditional gravy would be quite right, so made this up as I went along - it worked very well.
chop a shallot very finely, then sweat it slowly in more butter than would seem reasonable. After about 20 minutes or so, add an organic beef stock cube dissolved in about half a WordPerfect* mugful of boiling water, and about the same again of red wine.
boil furiously until it reduces to a glutinous mess. Delicious with roast duck, and probably lamb and beef too. I think next time I might just put a pinch of five spice powder in it.
* the brand of mug is vital
Brilliant! At last a recipe even *I*, the queen of burning water, can understand. I substituted an ancient Nortel mug (seemed to be appropriately geeky) and a tiny touch of hot pepper. Lovely with roasted duck breast (which of course was not cooked by me).