Licorice-glazed Duck, Figs in Port, Sunchoke Purée

A post long over-due. I made this for our 13-course dinner. In January. Well, yes. My backlog is almost empty now, so I guess that's good news... :-)  Anyway. This dish was made with the idea to incorporate licorice in a non-sweet dish, and it turned out very well. Different, yes - but fun, too. And still tasty.

Licorice-glazed Duck

2 duck breasts
2 tsp licorice powder
1 tsp whisky
1/2 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp japanese soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp sweet chili sauce

Score the duck breasts, and brown, skin side down, until golden. Stir together all ingredients for the glaze and bring to a boil. Cook until thickened. Slather this on the duck breasts and cook in the oven at 175°C until at your desired temperature. (Some say 65°C, some say 70°C, some say more...)

Figs in Port
8  fresh figs, quartered
200 g sugar
300 ml water
200 ml port

Stir together sugar, water and port and bring to a boil. Add the figs and cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes.

Sunchoke Purée
400 g sunchokes, peeled and chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 tsp olive oil
100 ml cream
salt

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the shallot and cook on medium heat until softened. Add the sunchokes and the cream, cover with a lid and cook until completely soft. Mash, and season with salt.