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ffwd: duck breasts with fresh peaches
Another Friday, another recipe for French Fridays with Dorie. Each week, I have the best intentions of blogging about all the other things I make during the week. Summer produce is flooding in, and I’m cooking like crazy. Somehow I only have the time and energy to write and depict this one.
This week’s Dorie recipe is for Duck Breasts with Fresh Peaches. If you asked me to name my Top 3 takeaways from Around My French Table, one would definitely be the confidence of searing duck breasts at home. It was nearly two years ago, Friday November 4, 2011, when duck first appeared on the FFwD calendar. I had always been a frequent orderer of duck in restaurants, but for the first time, I realized that I could make this for myself at home, and quickly. A revelation for sure. I have made duck breasts many times since then. It’s replaced lamb chops as my go-to special occasion meal. With peaches at their peak, I was excited to try a new variation on the theme.
By now, many of you understand the food quirks of my household. The name of this recipe indicates the problem. It’s not the duck, but the fruit in a savory dish. You know that Howard will not eat peaches with his dinner. Fortunately, the peaches in this dish are more of a side or hearty garnish. I was able to make a peach for myself and none for my husband. The sauce with its sweet and tangy blend of flavors offered no offense to his culinary sensibilities. I plated my plate with the delicious browned peaches, and Howard’s without.
Before
After
Cooking the duck breasts, scoring the skin and then searing them for a few minutes on each side, was as easy as usual. I like duck breast on the rare side, but I’ll admit that I overcooked it slightly, not perfect, but still delicious. I enjoyed the flavor and texture of the browned fruit. The sauce complemented both the meat and the fruit. On the side, I served Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains blend, a combination of Israeli couscous, colored orzo, quinoa, and baby chickpeas.
Once again, I was delighted to be making restaurant fare in my own kitchen! To see how my fellow bloggers did with their duck breasts and peaches, check out their links here. I can’t find the recipe on-line this week, but you can find it in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table.
French Fridays with Dorie: Honey-Glazed Duck Breasts
Because it’s nothing I ever considered as home cooking, duck is one of my favorite things to order in a restaurant: duck breast, duck leg, duck confit – any or all of the above. When I saw this week’s recipe for French Fridays with Dorie was 20-minute honey-glazed duck breasts, I was definitely intrigued.
Fortuitously, my closest grocery store actually carries duck breasts. They’re from Peking ducks from Québec, naturally raised for their meat, not force fed for foie gras. We’ve used duck legs from the same producer (Brome Lake Ducks) for duck confit, but never tried the breasts.
What a revelation! Not only can I now have restaurant food at home, but it was fast enough to make for a weeknight meal. Even so, it was impressive enough for a fancy company dinner too.
First, you cross-hatch the fatty skin on the duck. Then you heat up the casserole. (I love an excuse to use my Le Creuset pot.) Once it’s hot, the duck goes in, skin side down, for about 8 minutes to crisp up the skin. The high sides of the pot helped contain the splattering fat, though I had to use the splatter guard too. Ducks sure do have a lot of fat. Then, I flipped over the duck to brown up the other side for a few minutes. It was looking good. I loosely wrapped the duck in foil, and let the breasts rest in a warm oven while I made the tangy sweet-and-sour honey-balsamic-lemon sauce. (I’ve reserved all that duck fat to use to roast potatoes another time. I can’t wait for that.)
For serving, I sliced the duck (on the diagonal to make it more tender, according to Dorie) and drizzled the slices with sauce. To me, lentils are the perfect side dish for duck, so while my duck cooked, I simmered a pot of lentils. I tossed the warm lentils with a mustard vinaigrette. Sauteed beet greens rounded out the plate.
I thought the duck breasts were comparable to many duck dishes I’ve ordered out. How exciting to be a home chef! I don’t remember which recipe I last proclaimed my favorite FFwD recipe so far, but this one is definitely in the top three!
Check out what the other Doristas thought about the honey-glazed duck here. I’m hoping they are as enthusiastic as I am. And I’m curious about what kinds of sides they chose to serve with the duck.
If you want the recipe, check it out in Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table.
A Plateful of Happiness 