Fit for a king....

A recent meal at home.....

Duck breast- marinated in balsamic, oil, shallots, garlic & smashed blackberries. Seared until slightly pink on the inside. Pan deglazed with the marinade. Duck breast sliced and crunchy oniony bits from the pan spooned on top. Served over salad greens with a blackberry sage cream drizzled over the whole dish. Roasted fennel bulb on the side. Oh my. Beer number one was Hanssen's "Experimental" Cassis Lambic. Deep purple colour, and aromas of fruit and Hanssen's "funk". The aromas followed through into the flavour, with a nice balanced sourness blending with the fruitiness. Unfortunately the beer was totally flat, and we found the fruit to be a little too pronounced to match perfectly with the duck because of this. The beer did go extremely well with the fennel though, contrasting the licorice flavours nicely. Plan B? Switch to Cantillon Lou Pepe Kriek (2005). We'd been saving this gem for quite some time, and this was the perfect opportunity. It was smashing. In all the right places. Fruity, but not sweet. Sour, complex, and perfect with our duck. We drank the rest of the Cassis for dessert. Sigh.