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pan-seared duck breasts with clementines {ffwd}
Before I started cooking with French Fridays with Dorie, eating duck was reserved for restaurant dining. If duck was on the menu, it was often my first choice of what to order. Admittedly, it’s the sides that are usually served with duck that help suck me in: lentils, roasted root vegetables, pan-fried potatoes… One of my favorite takeaways from this cooking group is learning to sear duck breasts in my own kitchen. I have the added good fortune that the grocery store closest to my house usually has a few duck breasts and legs in the meat case, though I’ve taken to keeping a few duck breasts in the freezer for impulse cooking.
The third and final duck breast recipe in Around My French Table is Duck Breasts with Kumquats, which is a sort of deconstructed,simpler version of duck à l’orange. All of the recipes are based on the same technique of searing the duck breast and letting it finish cooking while it rests in a warm oven, each with a different sauce. The sauce this week was a citrusy red wine reduction sauce. From past experience, I knew that using a saucepan to reduce lots of liquid takes way too long, so I used a wide low sauté pan, which worked really well. In the end, the sauce was satisfactory, but not that memorable. Actually, I didn’t enjoy the sauce from any of these recipes (the others were honey glazed and with peaches). I think I prefer the duck plain, but bring on those sides! (I have lots of leftover sauce. Any ideas on how it might be used?)
On the other hand, the garnish, candied citrus, was outstanding. It’s a little too early here for the called-for kumquats, but I found some tiny clementines to stand in. The sliced fruit simmer in a dilute simple syrup until they are tender, which happens in about 10 minutes. The house smelled great! And the candied slices tasted wonderful, even just tasting them on their own straight from the pot. I’m excited to add the syrup to a glass of seltzer for a refreshing beverage. Or even to spoon the fruit and syrup over vanilla ice cream.
I wasn’t organized enough for any restaurant-worthy sides, just some Israeli couscous, but it was still good. For anyone who wonders, Howard did eat it without the sliced fruit.
This morning was our first snow! It was a light dusting of wet snow, and it melted by noontime. No big nuisance, just a little reminder of what’s coming soon.
Today is also “Bella Day”, the 5th anniversary of our adoption of our furry monster. I still remember Howard and I walking her around the parking lot at the shelter in the pouring rain, a test drive of sorts. It was only six months after we’d lost our first dog Lily. When I asked whether he thought she was the one, he responded, “What would she have to do for us NOT to take her home?”. So we became family. She’s been a joy, full of personality, a mix of sweetness and stubbornness. From her chow heritage, she’s not especially cuddly, though she likes to hang out close by her people. We also count Bella Day as her birthday, so Happy 10th Birthday, Bella!
A similar version of this recipe can be found here on Epicurious. It’s also in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table. To see how the Doristas quacked with their ducks, check their links here.
jerusalem artichoke soup with parsley coulis {ffwd}
We’re in the home stretch, the last autumn cooking through Around My French Table, so we’re making sure to cover the recipes with seasonal ingredients that won’t be available as the rest of the year unfolds. Somehow we skipped Jerusalem artichokes the last three autumns of French Fridays with Dorie, so now we have to make up for that oversight.
A few weeks ago, Jerusalem artichokes made their debut appearance when we roasted them with garlic. This week, they are the star of a simple velvety soup. Same nutty vegetable, two completely different textures. And learning from round one, I knew to pick tubers that had fewer warts and knobs for ease of peeling.
The soup starts off by sautéing a pile of ivory and pale green vegetables (onions, garlic, leek and celery) in butter. Once the vegetables are soft, chunks of Jerusalem artichokes get added and sautéed some more. The chokes were supposed to soften after 15 minutes before the chicken broth gets added. Mine were not soft, but I assumed the long simmer in broth that followed would fully cook them. I was right. The final step is to process the soup in the blender for a smooth puree.
Not surprisingly, all those white vegetables result in a bland looking bowl. Parsley coulis adds color to the bowl. Parsley leaves are quickly blanched then cooled in ice water, drained and patted dry. To make coulis, the parsley is pureed with olive oil. I must have packed my parsley leaves more than I should have. My coulis was thick and chunky, even after I added extra oil. It was more like pesto without nuts or cheese, rather than something that would drizzle. It didn’t look as pretty as it might have, though it tasted just fine.
This soup is light enough for a starter for dinner, which is how I served it. With crusty bread or crackers, it would also make a nice lunch. I still think it’s not worth it to seek out Jerusalem artichokes, but if you have a ready source, this soup is lovely.
If you want to check out the other Doristas’s soup bowls, you can follow their links from here. The recipe can be found in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table or on Google Books.
A Plateful of Happiness 