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I once tried this dish on holiday in Portugal and the memory of the delicious flavour has stayed with me ever since. It’s only been about three decades since I had it so I thought it about time I had a go at recreating it! I’m annoyed at myself for not making this sooner, it ‘s delicious full of rich plum and hoisin flavour and I’ve been missing out.

The duck and the plum and hoisin are a match made in heaven as we already know. The tagliatelle just takes this comfort food one step ahead. I hope you enjoy it and make it quicker than in thirty years!

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 duck breasts

1 large spring onion

2 cloves garlic – minced

150g tagliatelle

140g plum and hoisin sauce – I bought a fresh one from Waitrose as it’s so good you may as well.

Salt and pepper to season

Method

Preheat oven to 200C / 180C fan

Heat oil in a frying pan, score and season your duck and pan fry for 5 minutes to seal. Turning to heat each side fairly evenly.

Now you’ve sealed the duck breasts, make a parcel for them out of tinfoil and transfer to the oven on a baking tray. Roast for 15 minutes.

While the duck is in the oven put a large pot of salty water on to boil. While it’s heating pan fry your chopped spring onion and minced garlic for a minute or two to soften, pour in your plum and hoisin sauce, stir and turn off the heat.

When the duck has approximately 5 minutes left in the oven, put your tagliatelle in the pan of boiling salty water and cook for as long as your instructions advise. ( Mine was 8 mins).

Remove duck from oven and let rest for 5 minutes or so.

Once pasta is cooked, drain off the water in a colander ensuring there’s still a small amount of cooking water on the pasta to keep it nice and slippery. Stir in a teaspoon or so of extra virgin olive oil to stop it sticking and transfer straight to your pan with the sauce. Turn on the heat so the sauce is heated nicely.

Slice your duck into strips, add to the pan and stir all the gorgeous sauce onto the tagliatelle.

Tip: Enjoy with a nice glass of Shiraz.