Duck With Pear Sauce And Wilted Greens
Serves: 6
Amie Torphy
1 January 1970
Based on User reviews:
50
Spice
51
Sweetness
43
Sourness
38
mins
Prep time (avg)
4.7
Difficulty
Ingredients:
1.5 cups
White Wine (dry about half a bottle)1
Salt1.25 cups
Chicken Stock2 tbsps
Butter6
Pears1 small
Butternut Squash1 cup
Barley1.5 cups
Water2 bunches
Swiss Chard (cleaned, dried)Directions:
1
Special equipment: Food dehydrator Spice grinder Remove the breast and the legs from the duck (you can ask your butcher to do this for you)
2
Remove the skin from the legs and reserve with the neck, heart, and gizzard
3
Heat an 8-inch saute pan over high heat
4
Add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan
5
Add the duck legs and sear until well browned on all sides, but not cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes
6
Lower the heat to medium-low, pour off any excess fat and add the white wine
7
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper
8
Cover with a tight lid and cook slowly over low heat for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat falls off the bones
9
Remove the legs from the liquid and remove all the meat from the bones and set aside
10
Pour the braising liquid into a shallow container and remove the fat - if you refrigerate the braising liquid overnight the fat will solidify and be easy to remove
11
There should be at least 1 cup of braising liquid left after the removal of the fat, if not, add chicken stock to make up 1 cup
12
Add the braised meat back to the braising liquid and cook over low heat, just until the meat is heated through
13
Set aside and keep warm
14
Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat
15
When the pan is hot, add the duck breasts, skin side down, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook without turning for 20 minutes, lowering the heat if the skin gets too dark and removing excess fat from the pan as it renders from the duck
16
During the last few minutes of cooking, season the flesh side with salt
17
Turn the breasts over and cook for 3 minutes
18
The duck breast should be medium rare to medium to be perfect
19
Remove the duck breast from the pan and let rest on a plate, reserving any juices that accumulate
20
Slice each breast into 4 to 6 slices
21
Remove the stewed duck meat from the braising liquid
22
Add the Pear Sauce to the braising liquid and strain through a fine strainer
23
Add any juices from the duck breast, the pear brandy and the butter and whisk well
24
Place a scoop of Barley Risotto slightly off center
25
Place some of the braised meat in front and the Wilted Greens on either side of the risotto
26
Place slices of the duck atop the braised meat
27
Drizzle the meat with the sauce
28
Sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts and place the dried pear slices into the risotto
29
Using a juicer, juice 2 pears to get 1/2 cup of juice
30
The pears can also be grated into a bowl lined with a clean kitchen towel
31
Once the pulp is in the towel, close the towel and squeeze all the juice out into the bowl
32
Thinly slice the remaining 4 pears lengthwise
33
Place in a food dehydrator and dry until crisp according to manufacturer's recommendations
34
Save the best looking dry pear slices to garnish the plate
35
Using a spice grinder grind the dried pears to a powder
36
Add 1/2 cup of the pear powder to the 1/2 cup of juice and let sit
37
The juice will thicken quickly and be about the consistency of peanut butter
38
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
39
Halve the butternut squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and discard
40
Lightly oil a sheet pan, place the squash flesh side down, and roast until soft, about 45 minutes
41
Set aside to cool, then scoop out of the skin and puree until smooth using a food mill or food processor
42
Refrigerate
43
Soak the barley in the water, cover, and refrigerate overnight
44
Pour the barley and the soaking water into a saucepan and bring to a simmer
45
Simmer until softened, about 10 to 15 minutes
46
Add the butternut squash puree and season with salt and black pepper and keep warm until needed
47
Add butter right before serving
48
Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat
49
Add enough canola oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan
50
Add the greens and cook, tossing often, just until greens are wilted and stalks are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes
51
Set aside and keep hot